Joe Biden told radio host Charlamagne tha God that he ‘ain’t black’ if he can’t figure out who to pick between President Trump and him in the November election.
Biden, the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee, made the cringey comment at the end of a contentious 18-minute interview where the former vice president defended his record supporting black Americans.
Over the course of the interview, an aide twice interrupted the back-and-forth to tell Biden he was over on time.
Vice President Joe Biden (right) appeared on ‘The Breakfast Club’ Friday with popular host Charlamagne tha God (left)
At the conclusion of the interview, Joe Biden told Charlamagne tha God ‘if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black’
Joe Biden defended his record on race in the 18-minute ‘Breakfast Club’ interview, telling Charlamagne tha God that his record on race ‘is second to none’
Charlamagne tha God was upfront with Joe Biden about past criticism. And asked him tough questions including whether he was suffering from mental decline
This inspired Charlamagne the God, the host of the popular ‘Breakfast Club’ program, to say, ‘You can’t do that to black media.’
‘I’ve got to do that to white media and black media because my wife has to go on at 6 o’clock,’ Biden replied. ‘Uh oh, I’m in trouble,’ he muttered, checking the time.
The Bidens, who are under a coronavirus stay at home order in Delaware, share a TV studio set up in a basement rec room.
Charlamagne the God asked the ex-veep to come see him in New York post-pandemic.
‘It’s a long way until November, we’ve got more questions,’ the radio host said.
Biden sounded surprised by that comment.
‘You’ve got more questions?’ he asked.
‘Well, I will tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,’ Biden said.
Charlamagne the God replied, ‘it has nothing to do with Trump.
‘I want something for my community,’ he told the former vice president.
Biden, using the defensive tone he used for most of the interview, shot back, ‘Take a look at my record man.’
‘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,’ Biden said.
When an aide tried ending things for a third time, Biden promised he would come back on ‘The Breakfast Club’ and called Charlamagne tha God ‘pal.’
Things had gotten off to a rocky start with Charlamagne the God copping to the fact that he had been criticial of Biden on his show.
‘I know you have,’ Biden replied. ‘You don’t know me.’
Charlamagne tha God admitted that was accurate.
‘No I don’t, that’s why I want to get to know you today,’ the host said. ‘I’m going to talk to you mostly about black stuff.’
Charlamagne tha God asked about Biden’s family and how they were doing during the coronavirus pandemic, while Biden segued and said, ‘I’ll tell you what, the black community is getting killed though.’
The radio host agreed, and then asked Biden about his cognitive health, pointing to the many attacks on the right suggesting that the 77-year-old candidate was experiencing a mental decline.
Biden responded by saying he couldn’t wait to take on the ‘stable genius,’ Trump.
Charlamagne tha God also questioned Biden on how he could excite voters from his basement.
‘I’m following the rules man. I wear my mask,’ Biden replied.
‘By the way I’m beating him across the board,’ he continued. ‘It’s not hurting me, I’m winning in all those states, I’m head in all national polls, the more he talks the better off I am.’
Charlamagne tha God said he was skeptical of polling after what happened in 2016 – especially since Hillary Clinton was ahead in national polling, but got beaten in three key swing states, where polling wasn’t being conducted as regularly.
‘Polls can be illusions,’ the radio host said.
Biden argued that it’s different in 2020 because instead of being an unknown change agent, Trump is a known commodity.
The two had a back-and-forth about the controversial 1994 crime bill, which has been blamed for mass incarceration of black Americans.
‘I got to ask you though, why so much resistance on admitting the crime bill and other legislation you were a part of was damaging to the black community?’ Charlamagne tha God asked Biden at one point. ‘We had Hillary on a few years ago, and Miss Clinton said the crime bill, we made a lot of mistakes with that and she wanted to atone for that by becoming the next president.’
Biden didn’t see things the same way.
‘She was wrong. It wasn’t the crime bill, it was the drug legislation, it was the institution of mandatory minimums, which I opposed,’ he said.
Biden said he had a broader plane for black America, which he referred to in the interview as a ‘manifesto.’
On the topic of drugs, Charlamagne the God asked Biden why he supported decriminalization of marijuana, but not full legalization.
‘Because they’re trying to find out whether or not there’s any impact on the use of marijuana, not in leading you to othet drugs, but does it effect longterm development of the brain,’ Biden answered. ‘And we should wait until the studies are done.’
‘I think science matters,’ the presumptive Democratic nominee added.
Charlamagne tha God also brought up the veepstakes, pointing to the CBS News story that broke Thursday, which said the Biden team was vetting Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a former 2020 candidate who is white.
‘A lot of people on social media, they’re not too happy about that because they want your running mate to be a black woman,’ Charlamagne tha God told the candidate.
‘And black people saved your political life in the primary this year,’ he added.
Biden had performed badly in both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. He came in a weak second to Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses, but his campaign’s hopes completely turned around after he was endorsed by Rep. Jim Clyburn, the most powerful black lawmaker on Capitol Hill, and easily won South Carolina’s primary.
While Biden has agreed to picking a female VP, he has not committed to choosing a woman of color.
‘What I’m saying to them is I’m not acknowledging anybody who’s being considered, but I guarantee you there are multiple black women being considered, multiple,’ Biden said.
As soon as the interview was released Friday morning, the Biden campaign started playing clean-up, while President Trump’s campaign came out kicking.
Symone Sanders, a prominent black Biden campaign adviser, tweeted out that the former vice president was indeed kidding.
Symone Sanders, a top Biden adviser, took to Twitter Friday morning to clarify that the former vice president’s comments were made ‘in jest’
‘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,’ Sanders said.
Sen. Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, said ‘that is the most arrogant, condescending comment I have heard in a long time,’ during an appearance Friday morning on Fox Business Network.
Katrina Pierson, a Trump campaign surrogate who is black, sent out a statement blasting ‘white liberal elites’ for their treatment of black Americans.
‘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,’ she said. ‘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.’