Most of the time when people say they have an unpopular opinion, it turns out it’s actually pretty popular.
Do you have some that’s really unpopular and most likely will get you downvoted?
He made a dumb joke, but here’s the full context
During the chat with The Breakfast Club, Biden attempted to make an appeal for the Black vote as is expected of one running for presidential office on a Black media outlet. During the chat, Biden discussed having a Black woman stand as his running mate, his stances on marijuana decriminalization and legalization, and the state of the Democratic Party as it relates to Black voters.
As the interview was set to end, Biden’s team is heard saying that the interview needs to wrap with Charlamagne saying humorously that “you can’t do that to Black media.” That prompted Biden to respond with, “I can’t do that to black media and white media because my wife has to go on at six o’clock.”
Biden then adds after looking at his wristwatch, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
It’s playful banter. The interviewer starts it with “you can’t do that to Black Media” jokingly when he needs to leave, and his response is pointing out the obvious. The kind of Black people consuming Black Media aren’t going to be voting for Trump, so it’ll be ok that he has to leave. Biden isn’t a great public speaker. He didn’t word this one well. It wasn’t a prepared statement, it was a response to other playfuyl banter. It’s primarily been used against him by right wing media in false outrage.
I can’t be bothered to care about playful banter. He’s not redirecting government resources or ignoring folks that didn’t vote for him like the last administration. The context above makes it clear what he meant too.
Doesn’t matter whether it was a joke or not, and it doesn’t matter if he’s a product of his time or not. If any Republican made jokes like that, progressives would be out with the pitchforks, but because he has a D after his name, Biden gets a pass. It’s ridiculous.
No, the person’s intent matters entirely. It’s the same issue with comedians making jokes. Some get a pass and some don’t. It’s all about knowing the person’s actual feelings, intent, and historical actions. Dave Chapelle and Kevin Hart received significant pushback from their statements on Trans and Gay people respectively because neither had shown to support either group prior to saying them. Hart, to his credit, has eventually learned why his statements were hurtful and has corrected his behavior (Side note the docuseries on Netflix? i think is pretty great. It covers part of this where he is extremely bullheaded about needing to apologize and how going on Ellen should have been enough, and members of his staff do show him why he’s wrong. Overall the series is sort of tragic as his motives are at odds with his family and I came away feeling sad for him more than anything).
If Biden is racist, he’s not showing it in any meaningful way today. Republicans don’t get the benefit of doubt because their policies are already anti-black. You may want to judge everything separately, but that’s not how it works. If someone does or says 9 racists things, it’s safe to assume the 10th thing is racist too.
If Biden is racist, he’s not showing it in any meaningful way today.
“the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean.” – Biden, referring to President Obama
“Poor kids are just as smart and talented as white kids!”
“It’s awful hard, as well, to get Latinx vaccinated as well. Why? They’re worried that they will be vaccinated and deported.”
“Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things.”
“That’s like saying you . . . before you got in this program, you’re take [sic] a test whether you’re taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?” – Biden asking a Black reporter if he’s a cocaine junkie after the reporter asked if he had taken a cognitive test
“You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.”
These are all from this century. Don’t tell me he isn’t racist. Even Harris said that she was personally affected by his racist policies growing up. He also has a long history of working with and praising segregationists. The guy is a fraud who’s senile.
I’m not saying that the Republicans are any better. Far from it. I’m saying that Biden gets away with it because he gets a D after his name.
