Former Vice President Joe Biden attempted to clarify his remarks about the African American community on Thursday after suggesting that the demographic has no diversity when compared to Latinos.
"Now what I mean [by] full diversity, unlike [the] African-American community and many other communities, you're from everywhere - from Europe, from [the] tip of South America, all the way to our border [in] Mexico, and in the Caribbean, and different background and different ethnicities - but all Latinos," Biden explained, or tried to explain.
"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 added.
Except something sounded off. More than a few social media users noticed that he never actually used the word "sorry."
At least one Washington lawmakers observed the same thing. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) sounds convinced that these aren't gaffes at all, but the former VP's true feelings. He's made similar remarks before, such as when he told radio host Charlamagne tha God that if he doesn't vote for him in November, he "ain't black."
Recap of Joe Biden's comments on race: The black community is not diverse. And if you're black and not a democrat "then you ain't black.” Are we so sure these are still gaffes? Or are these his true feelings and views coming out?
— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) August 7, 2020
Civil rights lawyer Leo Terrell was a bit more direct in his recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, declaring Biden a “racist." He added that the former vice president has "the mindset of a plantation owner."
“He thinks he knows however a black person thinks, how we walk, what we should eat. Joe Biden doesn’t understand that black people are individual," Terrell said.
When Biden made his "you ain't black" comment, notable black Trump supporters shared their disgust.
"Not only is it offensive to me, it's offensive to my African American children, it's offensive to my entire family and he should spend the rest of his campaign apologizing to our community, because what he said was outrageous," said Black Voices for Trump Advisory Board member and CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank T.W. Shannon.
"This is 2020 and I can't believe that we have a candidate who thinks in his mind that he is able to define what it means to be black," he continued.
President Trump doesn't think that these are slips of the tongue either.
After yesterday’s statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2020