The knives are out for Joe Biden, the current Democratic frontrunner. The former vice president is facing backlash for comments from 2007 that resurfaced this week regarding race.
Discussing why Iowa had better schools than those found in the nation’s capital, Biden pointed out the difference in demographics.
"There's less than one percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than four of five percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with," Biden had told the Washington Post.
"When you have children coming from dysfunctional homes, when you have children coming from homes where there's no books, where the mother from the time they're born doesn't talk to them -- as opposed to the mother in Iowa who's sitting out there and talks to them, the kid starts out with a 300 word larger vocabulary at age three. Half this education gap exists before the kid steps foot in the classroom."
Addressing the interview at the time, his campaign said he was not making a “race-based distinction.” Rather, it was “a discussion of the problems kids face who don't have the same socio-economic support system (and all that implies--nutrition, pre K, etc.) entering grade school and the impact of those disadvantages on outcomes."
Biden's comments are not going over well on social media.
reporter: why are schools in iowa are better than DC?
— josh (@lyftrs) May 7, 2019
joe biden: lol black people of course pic.twitter.com/T916JDaFJ1
Iowa schools perform better than DC schools because Iowa has fewer black people. Black people neglect children & as a result the children develop slower.
— FL for Bernie (@Poli_NewSense) May 8, 2019
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This is Joe Biden's 2007 idea on why 1 area's schools are better than another. #Biden2020 #Bernie2020 #Kamala2020
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His racist remarks did not end with his commentary about differences in schools, either.
and even better! pic.twitter.com/WeGtG4bmMV
— josh (@lyftrs) May 7, 2019
— Hispanic Ric Flair (@lakerspats1) May 8, 2019
Gee, the so-called electable and safe candidate sure has a history of saying stupid and problematic things.
— Anthony Navas (@AnthonyNavas01) May 8, 2019
There's plenty more where that came from. Good luck, Joe.