Former Vice President Joe Biden sparked some controversy over remarks about race during an interview on the New York City radio show “The Breakfast Club.”
In the interview on Friday, Biden was asked if he will name a black woman as his running mate.
The former vice president declined to name anybody that he is considering as a running mate but said, “I guarantee you there are multiple black women being considered.”
Biden’s team had called the interview over but the Democrat added as a parting message, “If you have a problem figuring out whether me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
He added, “Take a look at my record, man. I extended the Voting Rights Act 25 years. I have a record that is second-to-none. The NAACP’s endorsed me every time I’ve run. I mean, come on. Take a look at the record.”
See Biden’s comments below:
Somebody needs to tell Joe Biden that this comment to Charlamagne was a mistake.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) May 22, 2020
Yes, Biden is a much better choice for black people than racist Trump.
But white people don’t get to tell black people what is black.
Biden still has to EARN our vote.https://t.co/TPEV5ZpEYi
Katrina Pearson, who leads Trump’s outreach to black voters responded, “It is clear now more than ever, following these racist and dehumanizing remarks, that Joe Biden believes black men and women are incapable of being independent or free thinking.”
She continued, “He truly believes that he, a 77-year-old white man, should dictate how black people should behave. Biden has a history of racial condescension and today he once again proved what a growing number of black Americans and I have always known — Joe Biden does not deserve our votes.”
Charlamagne tha God, the radio host of “The Breakfast Club” told Mediaite after the Biden interview, “As Biden said in our brief interview when I asked him if Dems owe the black community ABSOLUTELY was his answer. So let’s see what you got!!!”
Biden’s senior advisor Symone Sanders hit back at the criticism, saying on Twitter, “Vice President Biden spent his career fighting alongside and for the African American community. He won his party’s nomination by earning every vote and meeting people where they are and that’s exactly what he intends to do this November.”
Vice President Biden spent his career fighting alongside and for the African American community. He won his party's nomination by earning every vote and meeting people where they are and that's exactly what he intends to do this November. 1/
— Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) May 22, 2020
She continued, “The comments made at the end of the Breakfast Club interview were in jest, but let’s be clear about what the VP was saying: he was making the distinction that he would put his record with the African American community up against Trump’s any day. Period.”