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Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has apologized for telling a black radio host that he “ain’t black” if he’s considering voting for President Donald Trump, though it’s done little to quell mounting anger against him.
“The bottom line of all of this perhaps I was much too cavalier,” he reportedly said during an impromptu call Friday with the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce.
“I know that the comments have come off like I was taking the African American vote for granted but nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve never ever done that and I’ve earned it every time. I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy.”
After rewriting his own political history — in reality, he had spearheaded a bill that proved devastating to the black community — Biden then turned his attention to bashing President Donald Trump, the man responsible for undoing the mess he’d created decades earlier.
Observe:
On the same call, @JoeBiden sought to draw contrast between himself and Donald Trump, saying “this is the same man who called Africa, s-hole countries while also claiming there are fine people on both sides in Charlottesville.”
— Sarah Mucha CNN (@sarahmucha) May 22, 2020
On Trump, @JoeBiden added, “He’s lied about President Obama’s birth certificate, failed to respond to the racial disparities in the present coronavirus and has advanced policies that further threaten the African American community.”
— Sarah Mucha CNN (@sarahmucha) May 22, 2020
Meanwhile, @JoeBiden says, “I was the first one calling for, that we need to keep explicit records as to who was being infected, and how many people are dying because I was positive…that African-Americans were being really badly damaged.”
— Sarah Mucha CNN (@sarahmucha) May 22, 2020
The president’s “s-hole countries” remark had nothing to do with race, the president’s “fine people on both sides” remark has been taken out of context, the “birther” controversy originated with Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign and the coronavirus is a disease that’s destroyed the lives of countless people, regardless of race.
The call with the chamber occurred after video footage from an interview Biden had conducted Thursday with Charlamagne tha God, the co-host of the “The Breakfast Club” radio show, went viral, triggering massive backlash and outrage over the former VP’s “racism.”
Pulled from the tail end of the interview, the footage showed Biden dismissing Charlamagne’s request that they speak again sometime soon so he could answer additional questions.
“You’ve got more questions? Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” the former VP said.
Watch (disable your adblocker if the video doesn’t appear):
Fast-forwarding back to Friday, even Charlamagne himself seemed unimpressed by the former VP’s attempts to backtrack from his highly offensive comments.
Speaking on CNN that evening, he told network host Erin Burnett that Biden’s claims of having always had the black community’s back just don’t vibe with reality.
“I heard him talking about things he did for black people back in the day. But you know, what have you done for me lately is my motto. I see black communities all across America catching hell regardless of who’s in the White House,” he said.
He then turned his attention specifically to the spate of devastating crime bills that Biden either wrote or sponsored during his past as a U.S. senator.
“If you created legislation that hurt, then you have to create legislation that helps. … Whether you’re talking about, you know, in ‘84 with the mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealers, or you’re talking about ‘86 with the crack laws that gave you more time for crack cocaine than powder cocaine,” he said.
“Or you’re talking about the ’94 crime bill, like, he was really one of the people on the front line when it came to the war on drugs and mass incarceration. So if he wants to be president, he needs to fix that. He needs to really, really help the people that have helped Democrats all of these years.”
Listen:
Charlamagne was fairly gentle with his criticism. Former Ohio Secretary of State and Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell, on the other hand, was not.
“Contrast Biden’s record in the black community with President Trump, who has led the way on criminal justice reform, increased funding to HBCU’s and ushered in the lowest black unemployment rate of all-time low before the coronavirus global pandemic artificially shut down the economy,” he bluntly wrote in a column late Friday.
“Today, Biden’s empty rhetoric and cheap shots against President Trump ring hollow. Biden and the Democrats are desperate to demonize the president in the Black community because they know Biden can’t defend his racist, antagonistic, and deeply harmful record.”
Moreover, Blackwell added, it’s clear from the former VP’s defensive apology — and the Democrat Party’s rush to defense him — that neither are sincere.
“Joe Biden and the Democratic Party will continue to talk down to the black community and lie about President Trump’s record in an effort to sow division and hate, while President Trump is laser-focused on criminal justice reform, rebuilding our economy and safely re-opening America so that all Americans can continue to pursue greater economic opportunities for themselves and their families,” he opined.
Derecka Purnell of The Guardian kept it even blunter, writing pithily that “[b]lack Americans are in an abusive relationship with the Democratic party.”
In tweets, she took shots at Biden’s defenders as well, blasting them for arguing that his racism must be excused, lest Trump be reelected to office:
Isn’t it wild that there is greater pressure for Black people to vote for Joe Biden than pressure for Joe Biden to be less racist?
— derecka (@dereckapurnell) May 22, 2020
A vote against Biden is not a vote for Trump. Perhaps its a vote against being captured by a Party that makes empty promises every four years. Perhaps its a vote against the Crime Bill. Perhaps its a vote against drones and deportations. Perhaps its a vote against racism
— derecka (@dereckapurnell) May 22, 2020
We need new options. And I support EVERY BLACK PERSON who is not voting for Joe Biden because of his destruction to black communities. Yes – you are still Black.
— derecka (@dereckapurnell) May 22, 2020
She even dinged former President Barack Hussein Obama:
So when Obama tweets “vote” it is a subtle reminder to reconcile with Joe – a lesser but still very violent and destructive option – because how dare we permit Trump a second term
— derecka (@dereckapurnell) May 22, 2020
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