Tim Scott slams Biden comment that ‘you ain’t black’ if you consider voting for Trump
At least two GOP lawmakers, including the only African-American Republican in the U.S. Senate, have blasted Joe Biden for telling a radio host “you ain’t black” if you’re considering supporting President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
Biden went on Charlamagne tha God’s radio show “The Breakfast Club” on Friday and spoke about his record on race.
When the host said Biden should come to New York because he had more questions, Biden replied: “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.”
Later on Friday, Biden said on a call with black business leaders that he regrets his comments, The Hill reported.
“I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy. I shouldn’t have been so cavalier,” Biden said, according to The Hill. “I don’t take it for granted at all and no one should have to vote for any party based on their race, religion or background. There are African Americans who think Trump is worth voting for. I don’t think so and I’m prepared to put my record against his, that was the bottom line and it was really unfortunate, I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
Trump, who hasn’t responded to Biden’s remarks directly, promoted a T-shirt on his Facebook page from his re-election campaign. The shirt reads “#YouAin’tBlack -Joe Biden.”
Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, slammed Biden’s remarks on Twitter.
“1.3 million black Americans already voted for Trump in 2016,” Scott, who is black, wrote on Twitter. “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 brow beat those that don’t agree.”
Scott also responded to Biden’s comments in an interview with Fox Business.
“That is the most arrogant, condescending comment I have heard in a very long time and that’s saying something,” Scott said. “Who in the heck does he think he is?”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, another South Carolina Republican, also reacted to Biden’s remarks.
“The comments from @JoeBiden were truly offensive, but a rare and honest insight into liberals thinking,” Graham tweeted on Friday. “Liberals believe you really can’t be black, Latino, female, or intelligent unless you support their liberal agenda.”
Symone Sanders, an adviser to the Biden campaign, wrote on Twitter that the former vice president’s comments were “in jest.”
“Vice President Biden spent his career fighting alongside and for the African American community,” Sanders wrote. “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.
“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,” she continued.
During the radio show, Lenard Larry McKelvey, known as Charlamagne tha God, questioned Biden on his record on race and brought up the 1994 crime bill.
Biden, who oversaw the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped author the bill called The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, according to Vox.
Although criminal justice reform activists say the law contributed to mass incarceration, Biden has disputed that claim.
“Folks, let’s get something straight: 92 out of every 100 prisoners end up behind bars are in a state prison, not a federal prison,” Biden said in May 2019, according to Vox.
Biden has defended the crime bill in the past, telling CNBC in 2016 that he wasn’t ashamed of it and that it “restored American cities.”
He has apologized for some parts of the law, but said that he “got stuck with” leading the charge because he was the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, The New York Times reported.
In his interview with Fox Business on Friday, Scott slammed Biden over the law, saying it “locked up more African-American males than any other piece of legislation.”
“And President Trump comes along and through his criminal justice reform corrects the absolute mistakes made by Joe Biden,” he said.
Biden said during Friday’s radio show that African-American voters have a long history of supporting him.
“I won a larger share of the black vote than anyone has, including Barack (Obama),” Biden said. “They’re the folks, as they say, brung me to the dance. ... Come on man, give me a little break here.”
“Take a look at my record man,” Biden continued. “I extended the Voting Rights Act 25 years. I have a record that is second to none. The NAACP has endorsed me every time I’ve run. Come on, take a look at my record.”
Trump’s re-election campaign called Biden’s comments “racist and dehumanizing”
“White liberal elitists have continuously dictated which Black Americans are allowed to come to the table and have a voice,” Katrina Pierson, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a news release. “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. He truly believes that he, a 77-year-old white man, should dictate how Black people should behave.” .”
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Tim Scott slams Biden comment that ‘you ain’t black’ if you consider voting for Trump."