Joe Biden really put his foot in his mouth being interviewed by Charlamagne tha God on his “The Breakfast Club” podcast, when he told the host “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re voting for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
The comment was so bad that even Biden quickly figured out that it was a bad thing to say. “I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy,” he said. “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.”
But the damage has been done. Cook Political Report editor Dave Wasserman suggested that the quote will haunt Biden down the road, “Will ‘you ain’t black’ be forgotten by the news cycle in a few days? Of course it will be. Should Dems be concerned about the Trump camp’s potential to weaponize it in targeted digital ads this fall? Absolutely.”
Biden’s remarks received widespread criticism.
“1.3 million black Americans already voted for Trump in 2016,” tweeted Republican Senator Tim Scott. “This morning, Joe Biden told every single one of us we ‘ain’t black.’ I’d say I’m surprised, but it’s sadly par for the course for Democrats to take the black community for granted and browbeat those that don’t agree.”
The most epic response came from the Trump campaign, which is memorializing Biden’s disastrous comments in a t-shirt.
Let’s never forget the arrogance and entitlement that led @JoeBiden to say to Black voters to who don’t support him:#YouAintBlack
Remind Joe that the days of being taken for granted are over.
Show you’re on @TeamTrump and buy your t-shirt today!https://t.co/M3cjCXNNj9
— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) May 22, 2020
I think the Trump campaign should take it further and cut a television ad featuring African American supporters of Trump responding to Biden’s remarks. They have cut a quick ad featuring media clips, which you can see below:
Now you know about @JoeBiden’s #YouAintBlack moment where he dictated how Black people should behave & vote.
So entitled and condescending!
This isn’t the first time Biden has stepped in it!
But @realDonaldTrump knows you have to earn votes & he’s got the record to do it. pic.twitter.com/blpaDWzVTH
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) May 22, 2020
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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
