While on a campaign stop in South Carolina, former vice president and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden apologized Saturday for his comments last month about segregationist senators in the 1970s and ’80s, praising them for their “civility.”

Joe Biden: “Folks, now, was I wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed, time and again? Yes, I was. I regret it. And I’m sorry for any of the pain or misconception they may have caused anybody.”

Biden went on to say that his 50-year record on issues of race should speak for itself, and suggested he was being unfairly smeared. A number of other 2020 Democrats took Biden to task over his track record on civil rights, most notably California Senator Kamala Harris, who challenged him over his opposition to desegregation busing. During his South Carolina address, Biden also tried to distance himself from parts of the 1994 anti-crime law that directed billions of dollars toward building state prisons, even though he strongly supported such efforts.