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Joe Biden visits New York City's Stonewall Inn ahead of 50th anniversary of uprising

Former Vice President and 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden on Tuesday stopped by New York City's Stonewall Inn. The visit comes more than a week before the bar celebrates the 1969 uprising that helped spark the gay rights movement.

Biden posted video of his visit with his wife, Jill Biden, to his Instagram Story. In one frame, a bar patron said, "Hey, Joe, can I have a beer?" In another frame, Biden was behind the bar.

The former vice president is in New York City for several fundraisers. Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he didn't "believe the polls right now" and called the 2020 campaign a "marathon."

On June 28, 1969, gay residents of Greenwich Village, rioted outside Stonewall Inn after police raided the bar, which was Mob-owned but a gay hangout. In 2016, former President Obama designated the bar a national monument.

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Joe Biden joins bartenders behind the counter at the Stonewall Inn on Tuesday, June 18, 2019, in New York.  Bebeto Matthews / AP

In 2012, Biden, then vice president, announced his support of gay marriage before Mr. Obama's administration. 

Bo Erickson contributed reporting.

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