Source: AP
Photo/Matt Slocum
Amid civil unrest and calls for
racial justice across the nation, presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe
Biden just said something unmistakably racist.
During a now-notorious virtual
press call with the National Association of Black Journalists and the National
Association of Hispanic Journalists, Biden said that the "African American
community" wasn't diverse.
"What you all know but
most people don't know, unlike the African American community, with notable
exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with
incredibly different attitudes about different things."
To Joe Biden, apparently, African
Americans do not have different attitudes about different things. While lots of
Biden's foibles could be explained away by misspeaking or garbling words, this
particular comment was stated quite clearly.
The call, which took place on
Tuesday and was released in full on Thursday, lasted just over 45 minutes and
including some of the most eye-opening Biden gaffes since the start of his
presidential campaign.
On Wednesday, Townhall reported
on a moment in the call in which Biden admitted he had not taken a cognitive ability test and
then asked a black reporter if was a junkie on cocaine. Later, when questioned
about his presidential plan for dealing with China, Biden gave a non-coherent
answer.
Throughout the call, Biden
struggled to form complete sentences and seemed to lose his train of thought on
multiple occasions. Although he has mostly been shielded by his staff and
handlers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden's comments, attitude, and
coherence during the NABJ NAHJ call have been sharply criticized.
The former vice president's
assertion that African Americans are some kind of ideological monolith is a
repeat of a comment he made in May in which he said black people who supported
President Trump weren't really Black.
"If you have a problem
figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black," Biden
said during a an interview on The Breakfast Club.
Biden has also had to apologize
for other insensitive racial comments made throughout the years. Last August,
Biden referred to minority children as "poor kids" during an event
hosted by the Asian and Latino coalition.
"Poor kids are just as
bright and just as talented as white kids," Biden said of minority
children. In 2006 he leaned heavily on a popular stereotype and said only
people who have a "slight Indian accent" could enter convenience
stores.
"You cannot go to a
7-Eleven or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not
joking!" Biden said.
Fox News anchor Harris
Faulkner excoriated Biden for his comments on The Breakfast
Club, saying his assertion was "more than just a little offensive."
"I’ve been fighting
against this notion that you are not black enough unless you think a certain
way, you vote a certain way, you speak a certain way, you do certain things. My
whole life, I grew up military. Pretty much neutral along the zone of, can’t we
all just get along no matter what we look like? I have bi-racial daughters.
Melissa, you know them. This is more than just a little offensive. It is
shortsighted, it is a blind spot for this former vice president," she
said.
As the campaign for president
surges forward, Biden may need to reconcile his comments and beliefs about
American minorities to prove he should be the leader of a nation embroiled in
racial angst. Certainly, any community in America represents a broad diversity
of thought by many more than a few "notable exceptions."
