Update below.
On Thursday, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden claimed that black Americans, “with notable exceptions,” have no diversity of thought. President Donald Trump denounced this “great insult to the black community” and proved Biden wrong by retweeting black Americans who buck the trend of supporting Democrats.
“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,” the presumptive Democratic nominee said.
Joe Biden just said that Latinos have diversity of thought, unlike Black Americans…
This is disgusting!pic.twitter.com/CxzJKkabwY
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 6, 2020
Trump condemned the remark in comments to press outside the White House.
“So I just watched a clip and Joe Biden this morning totally disparaged and insulted the black community,” the president said. “I don’t know what’s going on with him but it was a very insulting statement he made. It was a great insult to the black community.”
President @realDonaldTrump: “Joe Biden, this morning, totally disparaged and insulted the Black community” by saying Latinos have diversity of thought, unlike Black Americans pic.twitter.com/Db4D90xbWi
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 6, 2020
Race-Baiting Biden Ad Compares Trump to ‘Violent Racists’ Who Attacked Civil Rights Movement
On Thursday afternoon, the president retweeted black Americans who expressed outrage over Biden’s comments.
“I’ve updated my Twitter username to stand in solidarity with my Black American friends, who first had their blackness snatched by Joe Biden, before he proceeded to tell them they are all monolithic lemmings,” Christian rapper Zuby tweeted. He put “Notable Exception” in his Twitter bio.
I've updated my Twitter username to stand in solidarity with my Black American friends, who first had their blackness snatched by Joe Biden, before he proceeded to tell them they are all monolithic lemmings. #NotableException ✊🏾
— ZUBY: (Notable Exception) (@ZubyMusic) August 6, 2020
Zuby was referring to Biden’s notorious comment toThe Breakfast Club host Charlemagne tha God. “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re voting for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” the former vice president had said.
Trump also retweeted a video from Christian Walker, a young black man who identifies himself as a “free-speech radicalist” on Twitter and has nearly 50,000 followers.
“Joe Biden, I found your comfort with the Black vote to be insulting. Your recent African American comments and the time you said, ‘You ain’t black,’ [are] disgusting,” Walker says in the video. “We are just as diverse as the Latino community,” he argues. “There’s lots of conservative black Americans, and we’re going to vote Trump in November.”
Joe Biden’s comfort with “ African Americans “ votes is insulting. I’m black and I won’t be casting my vote for Jim Crow Joe @JoeBiden. I’m pro-America pic.twitter.com/feu4xLCVc0
— Christian Walker (@ChristianWalk1r) August 6, 2020
Trump also retweeted Angela Stanton King, a black Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia. Stanton King served two years in prison for conspiracy in a car theft ring and gave birth while in prison. Trump pardoned her in February, and she announced her candidacy in the race to unseat Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in March. The district is deep blue, but it remains to be seen who will replace Lewis and face Stanton King in November.
“My name is Angela Stanton King. I’m a proud Black woman who supports [Donald Trump],” Stanton King tweeted on Monday. “I’m done with the Democrat Party lying to my community. I’m running for Congress to end the lies once and for all.”
My name is Angela Stanton King.
I’m a proud Black woman who supports @realDonaldTrump.
I’m done with the Democrat Party lying to my community.
I’m running for Congress to end the lies once and for all.
RT and follow to join my campaign of truth! 🇺🇸
— Angela Stanton King 🇺🇸 (@theangiestanton) August 3, 2020
According to a recent Rasmussen poll, a slight majority of black likely voters approve of Trump. The president is more popular with black voters than he was in 2016. While black voters favor Biden by a wide margin, they do not support the former vice president to the same degree that they supported Hillary Clinton just before the 2016 election. Instead, they are moving toward Trump.
This does not mean Trump is likely to win the black vote in November, but it does suggest Biden cannot take black voters for granted. It also shows that the black community is not as monolithic as the former vice president suggested.
Update 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Biden attempted to “clarify” his comments on Twitter Thursday evening, walking back his claim about a lack of diversity of thought in the black community.
“Earlier today, I made some comments about diversity in the African American and Latino communities that I want to clarify. In no way did I mean to suggest the African American community is a monolith—not by identity, not on issues, not at all,” he tweeted.
“Throughout my career I’ve witnessed the diversity of thought, background, and sentiment within the African American community. It’s this diversity that makes our workplaces, communities, and country a better place,” he added. “My commitment to you is this: I will always listen, I will never stop fighting for the African American community and I will never stop fighting for a more equitable future.”
Throughout my career I've witnessed the diversity of thought, background, and sentiment within the African American community. It's this diversity that makes our workplaces, communities, and country a better place.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 7, 2020
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
