Former Vice President Joe Biden harshly condemned liberals who oppose free speech Tuesday, arguing that shutting down the First Amendment right is “simply wrong.”

“When I was coming up through college and graduate school, free speech was a big issue,” Biden said during a joint event with Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R). “But it was the opposite. It was liberals who were shouted down when they spoke. Liberals have very short memories. I mean it sincerely.”

Speaking before a crowd at the University of Delaware, Biden underscored the importance of the First Amendment, arguing that freedom of speech is “one of the defining features of who we are.”

“The First Amendment means what it says. You are not allowed to stand up and yell ‘fire’ in this auditorium. But you are allowed to stand up and say ‘Biden, I think you are an absolute jerk,’” he explained.

“We hurt ourselves badly when we don’t allow the speech to take place,” the former vice president continued. “Now, speech can move to the point of incitement…But the truth of the matter is, the incitement that occurs before a person even speaks—that falls on those who are engaged in that violence. Not on the speaker.”