Update: Former Vice President Biden responded directly to the backlash following his comments, claiming that he has never taken the African American community for granted:
MORE: "I shouldn't have been such a wise guy," @JoeBiden said later in the call with the @usblackchambers "I shouldn't have been so cavalier. ... No one should have to vote for any party based on their race, their religion, their background."
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) May 22, 2020
Biden's apology undermines the original narrative pushed by advisors and allies, that the former vice president's comments were of a joking manner.
Original Post: Former Vice President Joe Biden received backlash for racially charged comments in an interview with radio host Charlamagne Tha God on Friday morning. When asked about receiving the votes of African Americans, Biden asserted that voting for himself over President Trump is a no-brainer.
“If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black," the presumptive Democratic nominee said.
President Trump’s re-election campaign condemned the former vice president’s racially motivated, condescending comments.
“White liberal elitists have continuously dictated which Black Americans are allowed to come to the table and have a voice. 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,” Trump 2020 advisor Katrina Pierson said in a release. “He truly believes that he, a 77-year-old white man, should dictate how Black people should behave. Biden has a history of racial condescension and today he once again proved what a growing number of Black Americans and I have always known: Joe Biden does not deserve our votes.”
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Joe Biden to all the black Americans who voted for @realDonaldTrump in 2016: #YouAintBlack pic.twitter.com/iP4UZl0boB
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 22, 2020
Biden's campaign also took note of the backlash. The campaign's senior advisor, Symone Sanders, pivoted to defend her boss's record, claiming that the former vice president's comments were a good-faith joke, and that Biden's record with the African American community is more pristine:
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.
— Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) May 22, 2020
Biden’s racially charged sentiment on Friday morning outdoes most of his infamous gaffes, which are typically laughed off by his campaign. These comments, which insinuate that Biden is banking on the Black vote, will be difficult to write off as a freudian slip.
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