by Debra Heines
Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden (or his staff) felt the need to “clarify” comments the candidate made suggesting lack of diversity among “the African American community” – even after the corporate media worked valiantly to excuse the comments.
“In no way did I mean to suggest the African-American community is a monolith — not by identity, not on issues, not at all,” Biden said in an series of tweets.
Earlier today, I made some comments about diversity in the African American and Latino communities that I want to clarify. In no way did I mean to suggest the African American community is a monolith—not by identity, not on issues, not at all.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 7, 2020
Throughout my career I've witnessed the diversity of thought, background, and sentiment within the African American community. It's this diversity that makes our workplaces, communities, and country a better place.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 7, 2020
During an interview with Black and Latino journalists published earlier in the day, Biden seemed to insult black voters, saying, “unlike the African-American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly diverse attitudes about different things.”
.@JoeBiden: “Unlike the African-American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community" pic.twitter.com/CFO4Q40jEI
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 6, 2020
During his interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) Joint Virtual Convention, Biden also denied ever taking a cognitive test – even though he recently bragged that he takes them “constantly,” and blathered incoherently about China.
Biden made the unfortunate racial comment after National Public Radio’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked him whether he would stop the deportation of Cubans.
“I’m going to look at every single country in the world … this guy [President Donald Trump] is sending them back,” Biden said, adding that he would extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program on his first day in office.
Garcia-Navarro then asked Biden whether he would attempt to restore the Obama administration’s policy of improving relations with communist Cuba.
Biden answered yes, and then offered his thoughts on the incredible diversity of the Latino community verses what he suggested was a lack of diversity among African Americans, a key Democrat voting block.
On Twitter, President Trump responded to the story, saying: “Wow! Joe Biden just lost the entire African American community. What a “dumb” thing to say!”
Joe Biden: ‘Unlike the African American Community … the Latino Community Is an Incredibly Diverse Community‘ https://t.co/mceJwwG7aV via @BreitbartNews. Wow! Joe Biden just lost the entire African American community. What a “dumb” thing to say!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2020
As the story blew up, media firefighters did their best to put out the fire.
D.C. consultant Drew Holden highlighted their efforts to downplay the gaffe on Twitter, and pointed out that despite all their hard work, Biden still felt the need to “clarify” what he had meant to say.
To start, @GlennKesslerWP, the fact checkers for the @washingtonpost, claims that Biden never made these comments he just walked back.
It begs the question why Biden would need to clarify them, don’t you think? pic.twitter.com/ciKmW1BRhp
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) August 7, 2020
Here’s where I would add @CNN but they didn’t even bother to report on or tweet about it.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) August 7, 2020
Plenty of outlets, including @nytimes, didn’t even bother to do their own reporting. They just picked up the wire from @AP.
I’m always fascinated by the stories that mainstream outlets won’t touch. pic.twitter.com/W5GpbuYG0O
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) August 7, 2020
Not only did Trump mention it, he seized! to hear @ABC tell it.
Heaven forbid Trump would point out his opponent yet again disparaging the Black community! pic.twitter.com/3VEFJkIE0k
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) August 7, 2020
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Debra Heine is a regular contributor to American Greatness.
Photo “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
