Trump Campaign Statement On Biden's Offensive Racial History

[APP Note:  As with all "Campaign Documents" archived by the APP, the content of this document was prepared by the presidential campaign. This is not the analysis or work product of the American Presidency Project.  We do not vouch for the accuracy of ANY campaign document published by any presidential campaign. They are provided as part of the historical record.]

"Joe Biden's record and proposals prove that he indiscriminately spreads economic misery for all Americans, so he has addressed inequality that way. And the basic fact remains that no one should listen to a lecture on racial justice from Joe Biden. He palled around with notorious, racist, segregationist senators, bragged about receiving an award from George Wallace, eulogized the exalted cyclops of the KKK, opposed the desegregation of schools through busing, and said he didn't want his kids to grow up in a 'racial jungle.' On top of that, he has the nerve to demand obedience from Black voters, arrogantly declaring that "You ain't Black!" if you don't vote for him. It's time for Joe Biden to exit the stage and his brand of condescending, 'acceptable white liberal racism' can go with him. President Trump has a true record of accomplishment for Black Americans, including attaining the lowest unemployment rate ever, providing record funding for HBCUs, supporting school choice, and achieving real criminal justice reform. For Black voters, President Trump is the one with results and Joe Biden is the one with the racially divisive record."

- Katrina Pierson, Trump 2020 senior advisor

Key Takeaways on Biden's Record

• There is no worse person to help bring Americans together and address racial inequality than Joe Biden
• Biden has spent decades lying that he was a part of the Civil Rights movement, falsely claiming he marched and helped desegregate businesses
• Even after admitting he never marched, Biden has started repeating this lie again and claimed he came out of the Civil Rights movement
• Biden even invented a story this year that he was arrested trying to see Nelson Mandela, a lie he had to walk back because there is "no evidence" this ever occurred
• Biden spent his early years in the Senate actively opposing integration efforts
• Biden worked with segregationists to oppose busing to help desegregate schools, saying he did not want his children growing up in a "racial jungle"
• In 1979, Biden voted to protect the tax-exempt status of segregated private schools
• In the early 1970s, Biden even lived in a home with a racially restricted deed
• Biden has bragged about working with segregationists and racists, praising his relationships with them
  ?
  • Biden eulogized multiple segregationists, including Strom Thurmond and former KKK member Robert Byrd
  • As recently as last year, Biden bragged about his positive relationship with segregationist Senators like James Eastland and Herman Talmadge
  • In 1987, Biden bragged about receiving an award from Alabama Governor George Wallace
  • In 1975, Biden said the Democrats needed a "liberal George Wallace, someone who's not afraid to stand up and offend people"
• Biden bragged about Delaware being a slave state and honored Confederate leaders
  • In 2006, Biden said Delaware did not fight as part of the South during the Civil War "because we couldn't figure out how to get" there
  • In 1993, Biden said those who display the Confederate flag are "fine people"
  • In the 1970s, Biden voted to restore U.S. citizenship for Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis
• Biden has a long history of race baiting and racially offensive comments
  • In May, Biden told Black Americans "you ain't Black" if they do not support him
  • Biden has repeatedly equated being a minority with being poor and illiterate
  • Biden has referred to Black Americans as "boy," "colored," and "predators" who are "beyond the pale"
  • In 2012, Biden said Republicans would put Black Americans "back in chains"
  • During the 2008 election, Biden called Barack Obama "articulate" and "clean"
  • In 2007, Biden talked about going into the "black sections" of town
  • In 1985, Biden referred to Black singer at a Democratic fundraising dinner as "Michael Jackson" and "Prince"
  • In 1974, Biden compared himself to a "token black"
  • In 1973, Biden referred to slaves as "brothers"

BIDEN HAS PREVIOUSLY SAID HE DOES NOT FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR RIGHTING AMERICA'S RACIAL PROBLEMS

In 1975, Biden Told A Delaware Newspaper That He Did Not Buy The Belief That The "Black Man" Should Get A Head Start On The "White Man" Just Because Of The 300 Year History Of Suppression Of African Americans. "When Joe Biden was a freshman senator in the mid-1970s, his home state of Delaware, like other hotspots across the country, was engulfed in a bitter battle over school busing, debating whether children should be sent to schools in different neighborhoods to promote racial diversity. Biden took a lead role in the fight, speaking out repeatedly and forcefully against sending white children to majority-black schools and black children to majority-white schools. He played down the persistence of overt racism and suggested that the government should have a limited role in integration. 'I do not buy the concept, popular in the '60s, which said, 'We have suppressed the black man for 300 years and the white man is now far ahead in the race for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back, to even the race,' Biden told a Delaware-based weekly newspaper in 1975. 'I don't buy that.'" (Matt Viser, "Biden's Tough Talk On 1970s School Desegregation Plan Could Get New Scrutiny In Today's Democratic Party," The Washington Post, 3/7/19)

In 1975, Biden Commented On Slavery And Reparations Saying That He "[Doesn't] Feel Responsible For The Sins Of My Father And Grandfather." "But I do not buy the concept, popular in the 60's, which said: 'we have suppressed the black man for 300 years, and the white man is now far ahead in the 'race' for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back to even the 'race.' I don't buy that. I don't feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation. And I'll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago." (Sen. Joe Biden, Congressional Record, 210/2/1975, p. S31343)

BIDEN HAS A LONG HISTORY OF LYING AND SAYING HE WAS PART OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Biden Falsely Claimed That He Marched In The Civil Rights Movement

During His 1988 Campaign, Biden Falsely Claimed That He Was Part Of The Civil Rights Movement, Saying He "Marched" In His "Youth." "'In our youth, we changed America,' Biden said, reading from a script crafted for him by his strategist Pat Caddell. 'When we marched, we did not march for a 14-point program and a white paper; we marched to change attitudes, whether it was to civil rights, or women's rights, or the environment, or our culture, or the ending of the war in Vietnam. We profoundly altered the face of this nation.' The goal of his candidacy, he said, was to inspire collective action. 'Not the election of me; the election of we.'" (Robert Mackey, "Ahead Of South Carolina Vote, Joe Biden Faces Questions Over Claims Of Civil Rights Activism," The Intercept, 2/14/20)

• Biden Claimed He "Was One Of Those Guys That Sat In, And Marched, And All That Stuff." "During his first presidential run, he told voters that he 'was one of those guys that sat in, and marched, and all that stuff.' Facing pointed questions about those statements a few months later, he pulled them back." (Robert Samuels, "What A Lifeguarding Job On The Black Side Of Wilmington Taught Joe Biden About Race,," The Washington Post, 7/12/19)
• "Biden Never Traveled To Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Or Any Other Southern State, In That Era." "In the acclaimed 1992 book What It Takes by Richard Ben Cramer, an account of the 1988 presidential campaign, Biden is quoted as saying: 'Folks, when I started in public life, in the civil rights movement, we marched to change attitudes ... I remember what galvanized me ... Bull Connor and his dogs ... I'm serious. In Selma.' But Biden never traveled to Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, or any other Southern state, in that era." (Alana Goodman, "'I Was One Of Those Guys': Joe Biden's False Claims He Took Part In Civil Rights Marches, Boycotts, And Sit-ins,'" Washington Examiner, 7/1/19)
• According To Journalist Richard Ben Cramer, Biden's Campaign Aides Tried To Get Him Back On Script And Remind Him That He Did Not Personally March In The Civil Rights Movement. "Biden's aides tried, unsuccessfully, to nudge him back on script, reminding him that he had not, personally, marched, the journalist Richard Ben Cramer later reported in his 1992 book about the campaign, 'What It Takes.' According to Cramer, Biden's advisers later told him that the candidate would acknowledge the error each time he was reminded of it — and then frequently repeat it on the campaign trail." (Robert Mackey, "Ahead Of South Carolina Vote, Joe Biden Faces Questions Over Claims Of Civil Rights Activism," The Intercept, 2/14/20)

Biden Has Also Claimed That He Participated In Sit-Ins Along U.S. Route 40 In 1961 Which Involved A Series Of Protests At Segregated Restaurants. "Biden repeatedly claimed that he organized a boycott of a segregated restaurant and participated in sit-ins along U.S. Route 40 in 1961, a series of protests at segregated restaurants along the major highway in Delaware and Maryland. He also claimed he marched in civil rights protests, occupied a segregated movie theater, and led a high school boycott of a whites-only grill in Wilmington, Del." (Alan Goodman, "'I Was One Of Those Guys': Joe Biden's False Claims He Took Part In Civil Rights Marches, Boycotts, And Sit-Ins," Washington Examiner, 7/1/19)

• Biden's Peers Do Not Recall Him Ever Participating In Civil Rights Demonstrations Regarding The Route 40 Project. "Civil rights activists in Wilmington and the University of Delaware while Biden was a student said they don't recall him participating in any demonstrations. A historian who wrote a book about the Route 40 Project and the Freedom Riders movement said he was unaware of Biden's involvement." (Alan Goodman, "'I Was One Of Those Guys': Joe Biden's False Claims He Took Part In Civil Rights Marches, Boycotts, And Sit-Ins," Washington Examiner, 7/1/19)

In September 1987, Biden Admitted That He Did Not March, And He "Was Not Down In Selma" Or "Anywhere Else." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "During the 60's, I was in fact very concerned about the civil rights movement. I was not an activist, I worked at an all-black swimming pool in the east side of Wilmington, Delaware. I was involved. I was involved in what they were thinking, what they were feeling. I was involved, but I was not out marching. I was not down in Selma. I was not anywhere else. I was a suburbanite kid who got a dose of exposure to what was happening to black Americans in my own city." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At A News Conference, Washington, DC, 9/17/87)

Click To Watch

• In 2013, Biden Admitted He Did Not Take Part In The Civil Rights Movement In The South, Apologizing For Taking 48 Years To Get To Selma. "During his remarks at two events Sunday in Selma, Vice President Joe Biden mentioned his regret for not being a part of the civil rights movements in Selma and other parts of the Deep South . . . 'I regret — and although it's not a part of what I'm supposed to say — I apologize it took me 48 years to get here,' Biden said just moments before marching over the bridge with thousands of others. 'I should have been here. It's one of the regrets that I have and many in my generation have.'" ("Vice President Biden Takes Walk Across Bridge, History," Selma Times Journal, 3/3/13)
• In His 2007 Book Promises To Keep, Biden Admitted As A Young Person That He Had "No Real Relationships With Black People." "Biden applied for the lifeguard job after being transfixed by the brutal images of racial protests in the South. Other white students were figuring out ways to actively help in the struggle, but he wrote in his 2007 memoir that he realized something elementary was missing from his comprehension: He had no real relationships with black people." (Robert Samuels, "What A Lifeguarding Job On The Black Side Of Wilmington Taught Joe Biden About Race,," The Washington Post, 7/12/19)

Even After Admitting That He Never Marched, Biden Has Recently Repeated The Same Lies

In June 2020, Biden Claimed That As A Young Man In High School He Became "Involved" In The Civil Rights Movement And "Desegregating Restaurants." JOE BIDEN: "If I can make an analogy. When I started off as a kid, a young man in high school with uh, dealing with the issue. I got involved, I got involved in the civil rights movement. Desegregating restaurants, that kind of thing. The American public, that didn't live in areas where there were black populations didn't really believe how bad things really were." (Joe Biden, Remarks At The NAACP Virtual Town Hall, Wilmington, DE, 6/10/20)

Click To Watch

In March 2017, Biden Said That He Became Engaged In The Civil Rights Movement In High School With Sit-Ins And Desegregated Restaurants. JOE BIDEN: "I ran for the United States Senate as a 29-year-old kid for two reasons. I came out of the civil rights movement. I was just a kid in a segregated state that thought it was wrong and I got engaged in high school and there wasn't anything heroic about it. Sit-ins and desegregated restaurants." (Joe Biden, Remarks At The Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, D.C., 3/1/17)

Click To Watch

Biden Made Up A Story That He Was Arrested In South Africa Trying To See Nelson Mandela

In February 2020, Biden Falsely Claimed He Was Arrested In South Africa While Trying To See Nelson Mandela. JOE BIDEN: "This day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison and entered into discussions about apartheid. I had the great honor of meeting him. I had the great honor of being arrested with our U.N. ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see him on Robbens Island." (Joe Biden, Remarks At Campaign Event, Columbia, SC, 2/11/20)

Click To Watch

• Biden Went On To Speak Of This Arrest Two More Times In The Following Week. "Mr. Biden referred to his own arrest twice more in the next seven days, including at a campaign stop here on Tuesday where he spoke of getting arrested in South Africa between efforts to coax his wife to marry him. That proposal occurred in 1977, both Bidens have said." (Katie Glueck and Thomas Kaplan, "Biden Adds A Claim To His Biography: An Arrest In South Africa," The New York Times, 2/21/20)

The Washington Post Fact Checker Said That There Was "No Evidence" For Biden's Claim That he Was Arrested Or Met With Mandela In South Africa, Awarding Him Four Pinocchios. "Biden has never been shy about tooting his own horn. So it's pretty surprising that on the eve of a primary critical to his election hopes, he suddenly recalls being arrested in South Africa — and being thanked by Mandela for being arrested. There is no evidence for either claim; neither appears remotely credible. Biden earns Four Pinocchios." (Glenn Kessler, "Biden's Ridiculous Claim He Was Arrested Trying To See Mandela," The Washington Post, 2/25/20)

In February 2020, Biden Admitted That He Was Not Arrested In South Africa, Instead Claiming That He Was Detained And That He Met With Mandela Years Later. CNN'S JOHN BERMAN: "I do want to ask you about one thing that you've said repeatedly on the trail. I think it's three times now. You said that during your visit to South Africa, to visit Nelson Mandela, which I know was a very memorable visit for you, that you were arrested when you were there. Your campaign has come out since said, no, no, no, you were separated from other people at the airport, but you did say arrest three times." JOE BIDEN: "Yes." BERMAN: "Why?" BIDEN: "Well, what I meant to say was, I got off that -- look, I strongly, strongly, strongly opposed apartheid. I was one of the leaders. And if you doubt it, go on JoeBiden.com and look at the exchange between George Schultz and me in the Foreign Relations Committee. And here's the deal, I was with a black delegation, the CBC, the Congressional Black Caucus. They had me get off a plane. The Afrikaners got on in their shot pants and their guns, let me off for -- led me off first and moved me in a direction totally different. I turned around and everybody -- the entire black delegation was going another way. I said, I'm not going to go in that door that says white only. I'm going with them. They said, you're not. You can't move. You can't go with them. And they -- and they kept me there until finally I decided they were clear I wasn't going to move. And so what they finally did, they said, OK, they'll not going to make the congressional delegation go through the black door. They're not going to make me go through the white door. They went -- took us out -- if my memory serves me, through a baggage claim area up to a restaurant and they cleared out a restaurant. I felt strongly about apartheid. One of the reasons we were there. And after -- long after this, when Nelson Mandela was freed and came to the United States, he came in my office. He was one of the most incredible men I ever met. He sat down in my office and thanked me -- thanked me for trying to -- all the work I did on apartheid. And so that's -- that's the context of it. When I said arrested, I mean I was not able to -- I was not able to move. Cops, Afrikaners, would not let me go with them. Made me stay where I was. I guess I wasn't arrested, I was stopped. I was not able to move where I wanted to go." (CNN's New Day, 2/28/20)

Click To Watch

Biden Falsely Claimed The NAACP Endorsed Him "Every Time" He Ran For Office

In May 2020, Biden Falsely Claimed That The NAACP Endorsed Him Every Time He's Run. JOE BIDEN: "I have a record that is second to none. The NAACP's endorsed me every time I've run. I mean, c'mon, take a look at my record." (Joe Biden, Remarks On The Breakfast Club, 5/22/20)

Click To Watch

The NAACP Clarified That It Is a Nonpartisan Organization That Does Not Endorse Candidates For Political Office At Any Level. "Yesterday, former Vice President Joe Biden made a comment about the NAACP's endorsement. We want to clarify that the NAACP is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse candidates for political office at any level." (Press Release, "NAACP Statement On Endorsement Comment By Former Vice President Joe Biden," NAACP, 5/22/20)

BIDEN FOUGHT AGAINST EFFORTS TO DESEGREGATE SCHOOLS

In The 1970s, Biden Fought With Segregationists To Oppose School Busing

In The 1970s, Biden Promised His Constituents That He Would Oppose Busing. "For two hours, Biden paced the auditorium stage and absorbed the ire of the 250-member audience. Unable to offer them any assurance on the court ruling, he made a promise to oppose busing when he returned to Washington for the next legislative session. And he did." (Brett Gadsen, "Here's How Deep Biden's Busing Problem Runs," Politico Magazine, 5/5/19)

Biden Spent Years "Pushing Legislation To Thwart The Implementation Of Busing Schemes." "Biden spent the next four years pushing legislation to thwart the implementation of busing schemes like the one demanded by the courts in Wilmington around the country." (Brett Gadsen, "Here's How Deep Biden's Busing Problem Problem Runs," Politico Magazine, 5/5/19)

"Biden Took A Lead Role In The Fight" Against Busing, "Suggest[ing] That The Government Should Have A Limited Role In Integration." "Biden took a lead role in the fight, speaking out repeatedly and forcefully against sending white children to majority-black schools and black children to majority-white schools. He played down the persistence of overt racism and suggested that the government should have a limited role in integration." (Matt Viser, "Biden's Tough Talk On 1970s School Desegregation Plan Could Get New Scrutiny In Today's Democratic Party," The Washington Post, 3/7/19)

Biden Called Busing And Other Quota Systems "Racist." "'The new integration plans being offered are really just quota systems to assure a certain number of blacks, Chicanos, or whatever in each school. That, to me, is the most racist concept you can come up with,' Biden said. 'What it says is, 'In order for your child with curly black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin to be able to learn anything, he needs to sit next to my blond-haired, blue-eyed son.' That's racist! Who the hell do we think we are, that the only way a black man or woman can learn is if they rub shoulders with my white child?'" (Matt Viser, "Biden's Tough Talk On 1970s School Desegregation Plan Could Get New Scrutiny In Today's Democratic Party," The Washington Post, 3/7/19)

Biden Asked To Join The Senate Judiciary Committee Specifically To Lead The Charge Against Busing. "'One of the reasons I asked to join the Judiciary Committee, was so that I could work more closely with the attorney general and solicitor general and thereby put a stop to busing,' Biden said, according to a Feb. 18, 1977, News Journal article." (Amanda Terkel, "Biden Opposed Historic Black DOJ Nominees In Anti-Busing Crusade," The Huffington Post, 4/3/19)

Biden's Opposition To Busing "Was Far More Sweeping Than He Has Led Voters To Believe." "Mr. Biden has said that his record on school desegregation has been misrepresented, and he maintains that he supported busing as a remedy for the intentionally discriminatory policies that kept white and black students in separate schools in the South — a position his campaign spokesman, Andrew Bates, reaffirmed on Sunday in a statement to The Times. But a review of hundreds of pages of congressional records, as well as interviews with education experts and Biden contemporaries in Wilmington and Washington, suggests that his opposition to busing was far more sweeping than he has led voters to believe." (Astead W. Herndon and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "How Joe Biden Became the Democrats' Anti-Busing Crusader," The New York Times, 7/15/19)

In 1977, Biden Called Busing A "Bankrupt Policy." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): And I happen to think that the one way to ensure that you set the civil rights movement in America further back is to continue to push busing because it is a bankrupt policy." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At A Press Conference, 6/28/77)

Click To Watch

In 1975, Biden Argued That Busing Was A "Rejection…Of Black Pride"

In 1975, Biden Dismissed Busing As A "Rejection Of The Whole Movement Of Black Pride." "But 44 years ago, facing a backlash against busing from white voters, the future vice president voiced concerns not just about the policy of busing, which he had supported when first seeking election in 1972, but about the impact of desegregation on American society. He argued that segregation was good for blacks and was what they wanted. 'I think the concept of busing … that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest, is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride,' said Biden. Desegregation, he argued, was 'a rejection of the entire black awareness concept, where black is beautiful, black culture should be studied; and the cultural awareness of the importance of their own identity, their own individuality.'" (Alana Goodman, "Joe Biden Embraced Segregation In 1975, Claiming It Was A Matter Of 'Black Pride'" Washington Examiner, 1/31/19; NPR Interview, 1975)

Click To Watch

In 1977, Biden Voted Against Black Justice Department Nominees Specifically Over Opposition To Busing

In 1977, Drew Days III And Wade McCree, Both Black Men, Were Nominated By President Jimmy Carter To DOJ Positions. "In 1977, two black men nominated for key Justice Department posts by President Jimmy Carter easily won approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee. After confirmation by the full Senate, Drew Days III became the nation's first black head of the department's civil rights division and Wade McCree became the second black solicitor general." (Amanda Terkel, "Biden Opposed Historic Black DOJ Nominees In Anti-Busing Crusade, "The Huffington Post, 4/3/19)

Biden Opposed The Appointees "As Part Of His Crusade Against Busing." "Biden's opposition to Days and McCree was part of his crusade against busing, an imperfect and controversial means of desegregating public schools by transporting children to various schools farther away than their neighborhood ones. Biden initially supported busing during his 1972 Senate campaign, but once in office, he became the chamber's leading liberal voice against it." (Amanda Terkel, "Biden Opposed Historic Black DOJ Nominees In Anti-Busing Crusade, "The Huffington Post, 4/3/19)

• In A March 1977 Floor Speech, Biden Explicitly Stated His Opposition To Days And McCree Was Due To Their Stance Of Busing. "And on March 9 of that year, Biden gave a Senate floor speech detailing why he opposed the two men's nominations: 'I voted against them because we seem to disagree over an issue of great concern to me and the citizens of Delaware. The issue is forced busing. I oppose it. The citizens of Delaware oppose it. And, if my instincts are correct, the people in this nation oppose it.'" (Amanda Terkel, "Biden Opposed Historic Black DOJ Nominees In Anti-Busing Crusade, "The Huffington Post, 4/3/19)

Biden Voted With Segregationists To Protect Segregated Private Schools' Tax-Exempt Status

In 1979, Biden Voted To Allow Racially Segregated Private Schools To Keep Their Tax Exempt Status. "Joe Biden voted to allow racially segregated private schools to keep their tax exempt status in the late '70s, a stance that put him at odds with the Carter administration and drew criticism from civil rights groups at the time. Biden was among 54 senators who voted in 1979 to keep the 'Dornan rider'—a provision that barred the IRS from revoking the tax-exempt status of segregated private schools, sometimes called 'white flight academies,' that had appeared in the wake of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling integrating public schools." (Alana Goodman, "Biden Voted To Protect Segregated Private Schools' Tax-Exempt Status," The Washington Free Beacon, 6/23/20)

• This Vote Put Biden At Odds With The ACLU, The Urban League, And The Treasury Department. "Biden's vote to allow segregated private schools tax-exempt status put him at odds with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Urban League, and the Department of the Treasury at the time. 'Maintaining the Dornan amendments in the Treasury Appropriations bill would be a major blow to civil rights,' the ACLU said in a statement at the time. The Urban League said the Dornan rider 'would stymie the first serious attempts by the IRS to enforce the law precluding tax exemptions for private schools which practice racial discrimination.'" (Alana Goodman, "Biden Voted To Protect Segregated Private Schools' Tax-Exempt Status," The Washington Free Beacon, 6/23/20)
• On September 5, 1979, Biden Voted Against The Javits Amendment And Effectively Against The IRS' Proposed Regulations. "An identical section was in the money bill that came to the Senate floor. New York's Sen. Jacob Javits immediately moved to delete it and permit IRS to go after the 'white flight schools.' Javits's effort was soundly rejected. Both Delaware senators, Joe Biden and Bill Roth, voted against Javits and against the IRS regulation." (Pat Ordovensky, "Washington," The Morning News, 9/23/79)
• Biden Was Joined By Segregationist Senators Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Herman Talmadge (D-GA), John Stennis (D-MS), And Former Member Of The Ku Klux Klan Robert Byrd (D-WV) In His Vote Against The Javits Amendment. (S.Admt 522, Rollcall Vote #256, Rejected, 31-54, 9/5/79, Biden Voted Nay)

Biden Lived In A Home With A Deed That Barred Ownership By African-Americans

From 1971 To 1974, Biden's Legal Residence Had A Deed Barring Ownership By African-Americans. "An 'element of hypocrisy' in Sen. Joseph Biden, who has been critical of the nomination of William Rehnquist as chief justice, is suggested by the disclosure that Biden once lived in a house with a racially-restrictive deed, says a Rehnquist supporter. Biden's legal residence from August 1971 to October 1974 was a house that had a deed barring ownership by blacks, said James McClellan, head of the Center for Judicial Studies in Cumberland, Va." ("Biden Deed Suggests 'Hypocrisy,' Republican Charges," The Associated Press, 8/8/86)

Biden's Parents Purchased The Home In 1969. "The house in Faulkland, Del., was purchased in 1969 by Biden's parents, Joseph Sr. and Jean. Records provided by McClellan showed that in 1971, as the younger Biden was preparing to run for the Senate, he swapped homes with his father." ("Biden Deed Suggests 'Hypocrisy,' Republican Charges," The Associated Press, 8/8/86)

BIDEN HAS A LONG HISTORY OF PRAISING SEGREGATIONIST AND RACIST OFFICIALS

Biden Bragged About Receiving An Award From Alabama's Segregationist Governor George Wallace (D), Even Saying The Democratic Party Needed A "Liberal" Version Of Him

In 1987, Biden "Sought To Appeal To White Voters" By Touting An Award He Received From George Wallace In 1973 In Which Wallace Praised Biden As "One Of The Outstanding Young Politicians In America." "During 1987 fundraising trips across the South for his unsuccessful 1988 presidential bid, he sought to appeal to white voters, telling audiences that he had received an award from Wallace in 1973 and that the segregationist had lauded him as 'one of the outstanding young politicians of America.'" (Alana Goodman, "Joe Biden Once Said Democrats Needed 'A Liberal George Wallace,'" The Washington Examiner, 2/7/19)

• Biden Received The Award In Mobile, Alabama In January 1974 As Part Of The United States Jaycees' 36th Annual Awards Congress, Where Wallace Spoke To And Congratulated The Recipients. "These were among the men honored Saturday night by the United States Jaycees as America's Ten outstanding Young Men For 1974. The 10 were presented at the nationl Jaycees' 36th annual Awards Congress. … Gov. George C. Wallace told the Jaycees the nation has come to the point that 'an elitist group…from some large institution…go immediately into government as bureaucrats, who never in their lives worked a single day. … Names of those honors and the reason given by the Jaycees for their selection: Joseph R. Biden Jr., 31, U.S. Senator from Delaware." ("Jaycees Name Outstanding Men," The Anniston Star [Anniston, Alabama], 1/20/74)
• Wallace Was A Segregationist Who Lamented The Democrat Party's "Institutional Decay" For Embracing Leftist Leanings. "They do not, however, include a change in attitude toward the record of the Democratic party for the last decade. Governor Wallace, while appearing to soften his rhetoric this year, remains not only a segregationist but also a firm devotee of the theory that a certain institutional decay has occurred in this country because of leftist leanings within the party's leadership." (James T. Wooten, "Wallace Tells Convention He Wants to Help Party," The New York Times, 7/12/72)
• The Philadelphia Inquirer Reported That In 1987, Biden "Bragged Of An Award He Has Received From George Wallace" While He Was Campaigning In Alabama. "In that sense, Biden's troubles have something in common with Hart's: The critical issue, for each, became his character, not his foreign or economic policy. Hart's inability to explain why he changed his name and age hurt him in 1984. His lies about his relationship with Donna Rice destroyed him in 1987. For Biden, the problem is that he presented inconsistent images of himself at different times and places. At his news conference Thursday, for example, Biden said he refused to join the Democratic Party in Delaware in the 1960's because he was 'not comfortable' with its racist elements. In a 1983 speech in New Jersey, according to the New York Times, he said that as a young man, 'my stomach turned upon hearing the voices of Faubus and Wallace,' a reference to former Govs. Orval Faucus or Arkansas and George Wallace of Alabama. But campaigning in Alabama in April, Biden talked of his sympathy for the south; bragged of an award he had received from George Wallace in 1973 and said 'we [Delawareans] were on the South's side of the civil war." (Robert S. Boyd, "Cracks In The Image Being To Haunt Biden," Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/20/87)

In October 1975, Biden Told The Philadelphia Inquirer That The Democrats Need To Find "A Liberal George Wallace, Someone Who's Not Afraid To Stand Up And Offend People." "Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been emphasizing his civil rights record as he considers a 2020 White House bid, once praised notorious segregationist George Wallace and later claimed to have received an award from him. 'I think the Democratic Party could stand a liberal George Wallace — someone who's not afraid to stand up and offend people, someone who wouldn't pander but would say what the American people know in their gut is right,' Biden told the Philadelphia Enquirer on Oct. 12, 1975, referring to the racist then-Alabama governor." (Alana Goodman, "Joe Biden once said Democrats needed 'a liberal George Wallace,'" The Washington Examiner, 2/7/19)

In 1981, Biden Said That George Wallace Was "Right About Some Things." GARY ORFIELD: "I did and analysis of the voting records of the members that support the antibusing measures in the Congress, and most of them are not like you. Most of them also oppose voting rights, and most of them oppose fair housing, and most of them oppose compensatory education. They do not favor anything." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "That is exactly true. That is why I made the George Wallace analogy. In 1968, in law school, I wrote an article saying that busing is a stupid idea. And this is coming from a guy who did march, who was a civil liberties lawyer, who did all the fence work, a public defender who is on all these civil rights issues who, but for this issue, has a 'perfect record.' One of the reasons I was reluctant to say anything is that I did not want to be associated with those folks. I did not like being near them. I did not want to be with them. I did not want to be any part of it. I figured, if George Wallace was saying it then it had to be bad." ORFIELD: "You were right then Senator." BIDEN: "I am right. I was right then about him and his motivation. But sometimes even George Wallace is right about some things. One of the things that is happening in this country is that the American people have given up because we are mot very innovative." (Committee On the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 6/3/81)

Biden Delivered A Eulogy At Robert Byrd's Memorial Service, Calling Him A "Friend," A "Mentor," And A "Guide"

In 2010, Biden Delivered A 22 Minute Eulogy, The Longest Speech, At Senator Robert Byrd's (D-WV) Memorial Service, Praising Byrd's Character And Record In Office. "Biden, who delivered the longest eulogy at 22 minutes, recalled how Byrd as majority leader was riled by a vote Biden made against mining interests. Byrd took a roll call sheet, drew a red circle around Biden's name and vote, and screwed it into the door frame of his office — at eye-level for anyone who entered or left the office. But Biden also remembered how Byrd traveled to Wilmington in 1972 to attend the funeral of Biden's first wife and son, stood outside the crowded church in a driving rain and refused to come inside for fear of displacing someone else. 'He traveled a hard path in life, but he devoted his life to making that hard path a little easier for those who followed,' Biden said. 'This is a guy who continued to taste and smell and feel the suffering of the people of his state. He tasted it. That's why it was so deeply ingrained in him.' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recalled how Byrd told a Charleston newspaper reporter in 1959, when asked about his aspirations, that he hoped to become the Senate's Appropriations Committee chairman. 'Why did he dream that dream? Why didn't he aspire to the White House, or the Governor's Mansion, or any other high office?' Biden said. 'It's because Robert Byrd knew it was from that chair that he could best help his neighbors back home. He knew that was his first and most important job as their representative in the Senate. And of course — just as he'd predicted — Robert Byrd did indeed live long enough to hold the gavel he coveted.'" (J. Taylor Rushing, "Dignitaries Pack Final Farewell For Byrd," The Hill, 6/20/19)

• Biden Called Sen. Robert Byrd A "Friend" A "Mentor" And A "Guide." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "I – for a lot of us he was a friend, he was a mentor and he was a guide" (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At Sen. Byrd's Memorial Service, 7/2/10)

Click To Watch

Senator Byrd Was An "Exalted Cyclops" Of The Klu Klux Klan And Filibustered The 1964 Civil Rights Act. "As a young man, Mr. Byrd was an 'exalted cyclops' of the Ku Klux Klan. Although he apologized numerous times for what he considered a youthful indiscretion, his early votes in Congress -- notably a filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- reflected racially separatist views. As those views moderated, Mr. Byrd rose in the party hierarchy." (Joe Holley, "Sen. Robert Byrd Dead At 92; West Virginia Lawmaker Was The Longest Serving Member Of Congress In History, The Washington Post, 6/28/10)

Biden Delivered A Eulogy For His "Friend" Segregationist Strom Thurmond

In 2003, Biden Delivered A Eulogy For Strom Thurmond. "When Strom Thurmond died in 2003, Joe Biden remembered his Senate colleague — one of the most notorious segregationists in history — the way he wanted to be remembered. Thurmond, who lived to 100, was 'a product of his time,' Biden said in his eulogy of the South Carolina Republican who built his career on a Dixiecrat campaign for president in 1948 and on his opposition to civil rights. But Thurmond, Biden asserted, had 'moved to the good side.'" (Henry Gomez and Darren Sands, "Joe Biden Once Spoke At Strom Thurmond's Memorial Service. How Do People Feel About That Now?" BuzzFeed, 2/17/19)

• Biden Said That Thurmond And He "Shared A Life In The Senate For Over 30 Years" And He "Learned From Him." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "Strom and I shared a life in the Senate for over 30 years. We shared a good life there and it made a difference. I grew to know him and looked into his heart and I saw a man, a whole man. I tried to understand him. I learned from him and I watched him change." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At Strom Thurmond's Funeral Service, Columbia, SC, 7/1/03)
• Biden: "I Was Honored To Work With Him, Privileged To Serve With Him, Proud To Call Him My Friend." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At Strom Thurmond's Funeral Service, Columbia, SC, 7/1/03)
• Biden: "I Mourn With You For I Knew Strom Well. I Felt His Warmth As You Did, I Saw His Strength As You Did, I Was The Beneficiary Of His Virtues As You Were And I Will Miss Him As You Will." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At Strom Thurmond's Funeral Service, Columbia, SC, 7/1/03)

Click To Watch

Strom Thurmond "Came To National Attention In 1948 As The States' Rights Candidate" At The Democratic National Convention To Protest Civil Rights. "Mr. Thurmond first came to national attention in 1948 as the states' rights candidate after southerners walked out of the democratic convention to protest the party's new commitment to civil rights." (Adam Clymer, "Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100," The New York Times, 6/27/03)

• Thurmond's Opposition To Integration Was The "Hallmark Of His Career." "His opposition to integration, which he often attributed to Communism, was the hallmark of his career in Washington until the 1970's." (Adam Clymer, "Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100," The New York Times, 6/27/03)

Biden Touted His Relationships With Segregationist Senators James Eastland (D-MS), Herman Talmadge (D-GA), And John Stennis (D-MS)

In June 2019, Biden "Wistfully Recalled" The Era When "He Was Able To Get Along With Segregationist Senators" As His Colleagues. "Joe Biden wistfully recalled on Tuesday an era in which he was able to get along with segregationist senators even though they 'didn't agree on much of anything.' Dismissing criticism from his party's left-wing flank that he is too conciliatory toward political adversaries, the former vice president told a crowd of about 100 people gathered for a fundraiser at the Carlyle hotel in New York that one of his strengths was 'bringing people together.' He knew this made him 'old-fashioned' in the eyes of restive Democrats, he said. But he remained adamant that political fellowship of the sort he maintained with white supremacists in the 1970s was not just possible in today's climate — but the best answer to the forces elevating President Trump." (Isaac Stanley-Becker "'We Got Things Done': Biden Recalls 'Civility' With Segregationist Senators," The Washington Post, 6/19/19)

• Eastland Was An "Avowed Segregationist" Who Often Referred To Black People As "An Inferior Race." "Eastland was an avowed segregationist, who often said black people were "an inferior race." He served in the Senate for 35 years." (Gillian Brockell, "Three Civil Rights Workers Were Missing. Sen. Eastland Said It Was Fake News," The Washington Post, 6/21/19)

Biden Has Said That He Worked Alongside With Former Senator Herman Talmadge (D-GA) And "Got Things Done. "He pressed his case at the fundraiser Tuesday, using the examples of Eastland and Talmadge to argue that gaping differences can be accommodated. He said he could work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) without being 'best buddies' because he knows how to 'demonstrate respect' for Republicans. Even with Talmadge — 'one of the meanest guys I ever knew' — Biden noted, 'at least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done.'" (Isaac Stanley-Becker "'We Got Things Done': Biden Recalls 'Civility' With Segregationist Senators," The Washington Post, 6/19/19)

• Senator Talmadge Declared In 1956 That "God Advocates Segregation." "Son of Gene, 'Hummon' was a governor and longtime U.S. senator from Georgia. He declared in 1956 that "God advocates segregation." (Greg Bluestein, "Racist's Statue Gets Kicked Off Capitol Grounds," Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/31/13)
• Senator Talmadge "Was Among The Loudest Critics Of The Supreme Court's Decision In Brown Vs. Board Of Education." Two years earlier, Talmadge was among the loudest critics of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs. Board of Education and vowed that he would never permit the integration of schools." (Greg Bluestein, "Racist's Statue Gets Kicked Off Capitol Grounds," Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/31/13)

In 2016, Joe Biden Praised Segregationist Senator John Stennis, Called Him A "Friend" And A "Honorable" Man. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "It just made everything more personal and it made it harder to say, 'well, the reason that man or woman is doing that is because they're bad or because they have an evil motive, or because they're not decent, because you get to know everybody, and that's how I became friends with John Stennis. John -- always held his hand like he was holding a revolver, very honorable guy from Mississippi and one day I walked in the Senate, and the diner was crowded, and one of my senior colleagues said, 'come on, Joe, st down here in this seat,' and the seat I sat down was traditionally Stennis's seat. And I was 31 years old, and he was one of the bolds of the Senate, and I ordered my meal and it came and just when I was about to take the first bite, John Stennis walked in, I could see him out of the corner of my eye and so I immediately wiped my mouth and I put my napkin down, and I said, 'Mr. Chairman, I'm finished,' and I got up and I left. Later that afternoon about an hour and a half later I got the following letter, I still have it: 'Dear, Joe, your courtesy did not go unnoticed and it will not go unrewarded.' And he became my friend and he actually supported me when I tried to get the nomination in 1988 from Mississippi." (CSPAN, 12/13/16)

Click To Watch

BIDEN HAS REPEATEDLY BRAGGED ABOUT DELAWARE BEING A "SLAVE STATE"

In November 2006, Biden Told An Audience In South Carolina That He Was From "A Slave State That Fought Beside The North. That's Only Because We Couldn't Figure Out How To Get To The South. There Were A Couple Of Other States In The Way." "U.S. Sen. Joe Biden heads into his quest for votes in a 2008 presidential primary in South Carolina with a well-exercised sense of what to say and what to leave unsaid to Republicans and Democrats alike. … Biden noted Delaware was a border state and 'a slave state that fought beside the North. That's only because we couldn't figure out how to get to the south there were a couple of other states in the way.'" (Jim Davenport, "Biden Resonates With Republicans As He Sets Up S.C. Ground Game," The Associated Press, 11/28/06)

In August 2006, Biden Responded To The Idea That He Was A Northeastern Liberal By Saying "You Don't Know My State. My State Was A Slave State." FOX NEWS' CHRIS WALLACE: "Finally, we have about 30 seconds left, but I can't let you go without some politics. As we mentioned, you're in South Carolina right now on the campaign trail. 30 seconds or less, what kind of a chance will a northeastern liberal like Joe Biden stand in the south if you are running in Democratic primaries against southerners like Mark Warner and John Edwards?" SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "Better than anybody else. You don't know my state, my state was a slave state. My state is a border state. My state is the eighth largest black population in the country." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 8/27/06)

Click To Watch

In January 2006, Biden Cited The Fact That Delaware Was "A Slave State That Fought On The Side Of The North" As A Way To Argue That Delaware Politicians "Avoid[ed] Much Of The Partisan Strife That takes Place In Other States." "Biden said people in Washington often ask how Delaware politicians appear to avoid much of the partisan strife that takes place in other states. Part of the answer, Biden said, is in the volunteer fire service and people like King. 'This state is not a homogenous state. We're a border state, a slave state that fought on the side of the North. We're a very different state between Claymont and Hartly,' Biden said." (J.L. Miller, "Hartly Firefighter, A Legend In His Time, Honored," The [Wilmington, DC] News Journal, 1/8/06)

In 1987, Joe Biden Compared Delaware To Alabama, Called It A "Border State," And Said It Had Slaves Prior To The Civil War. "For instance, Biden is quick to claim similarities between southern Delaware and the South in general. He pointedly notes that Delaware is a 'border state' which means it had slaves prior to the Civil War though it did not secede from the Union. 'I don't wan't to overdraw the comparison because Delaware isn't Alabama, but its not Pennsylvania either' he says. 'Delaware is not New York or New Jersey. I don't say that with pride or anger. It's just not we're more like Virginia. You don't get elected in Delaware because you're George McGovern." (Frederick Burger, "Biden Pleased With State Trip," The Anniston Star," 4/3/87)

• Biden Campaigned Heavily In The South In The Run-Up To The 1988 Presidential Election. "For more than a decade, Biden has been coming to the South to campaign for local candidates by his own count, he has been in Alabama to speak and campaign some 25 times in the last 15 years." (Frederick Burger, "Biden Pleased With State Trip," The Anniston Star," 4/3/87)

BIDEN HONORED CONFEDERATE LEADERS AND SYMBOLS

Biden Voted To Restore The Citizenship Of Confederates Robert E. Lee And Jefferson Davis

In 1975, Biden Voted Unanimously With The Senate To Restore Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Citizenship. "In 1975, Biden joined a unanimous Senate vote to restore citizenship to Lee, 110 years after the Virginian surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to the Union general and future President Ulysses S. Grant. There were 10 dissenters in the House of Representatives, among them Rep. John Conyers Jr., a black Democrat from Michigan, who scoffed that the resolution was 'Bicentennial fluff.' Conyers retired in 2017." (Julio Rosas, "Joe Biden Voted To Give Robert E. Lee His US Citizenship," Washington Examiner, 4/29/19)

• The Bill Passed The Senate Without Opposition From Any Senator, Including Biden. "On motion by Mr. Byrd of West Virginia, and by unanimous consent, The Senate proceeded to consider the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 23) to restore posthumously full rights of citizenship to Gen. R. E. Lee. The question being on the passage of the joint resolution. On motion by Mr. Byrd of Virginia, and by unanimous consent." (Journal Of The Senate, 4/10/75)

In 1977, Sen. Joe Biden Vote To Restore Citizenship For Confederate President Jefferson Davis. "The former vice president, 76, was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that unanimously approved a bill in 1977. The measure was sent to the full Senate, where it was approved without dissent and later signed into law by President Jimmy Carter." (Alana Goodman, "Biden Voted To Restore Citizenship To Confederate President Jefferson Davis," Washington Examiner, 6/12/19)

• At The Time, Biden Was A Member Of The Judiciary Committee, Which Voted Unanimously On Returning Citizenship To Jefferson Davis. (Alana Goodman, "Biden Voted To Restore Citizenship To Confederate President Jefferson Davis," Washington Examiner, 6/12/19)

Biden Defended Those Who Display The Confederate Flag As "Fine People"

In July 1993, Biden Defended Those Who "Display The Confederate Flag" As "Fine People." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "I, too, heard that speech and, for the public listening to this, the Senator made a very moving and eloquent speech, as a son of the Confederacy, acknowledging that it was time to change and yield to a position that Senator Carol Moseley-Braun raised on the Senate floor, not granting a Federal charter to an organization made up of many fine people who continue to display the Confederate flag as a symbol." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At A Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, U.S. Senate, 7/23/93)

Click To Watch

BIDEN HAS A HISTORY OF RACE BAITING

Biden Told Americans "You Ain't Black" If They Did Not Support Him

In May 2020, Joe Biden Said That "If You Have A Problem Figuring Out Whether You're For Me Or Trump Than You Ain't Black." JOE BIDEN: "But I tell you that if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump than you ain't black." (Power 105.1FM's "Breakfast Club," 5/22/20)

Click To Watch

Biden Said Republicans Would Put Black Americans "Back In Chains"

In August 2012, At A Campaign Stop Vice President Biden Told A Crowd That Included Many Black Americans That Mitt Romney Would Put "Y'all Back In Chains." "Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday told a diverse crowd here, including many African-Americans, that presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney would 'put you all back in chains' by unshackling Wall Street. Biden told more than 800 ticketed supporters that Romney wants to repeal the financial regulations enacted after the Wall Street crash of 2008. 'He's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules - unchain Wall Street!' Biden said. Then he added, 'They're going to put you all back in chains' with their economic and regulatory policies." (Rodney Hawkins, "Biden Tells African-American Audience GOP Ticket Would Put Them 'Back In Chains,'" CBS News, 8/14/12)

• Biden: "Unchain Wall Street. They're Going To Put Y'all Back In Chains." VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "Well, let's take a look because now we got a real clear picture as Tom pointed out, we got a real clear picture of what they all value, they said it, every Republican voted for it. Look at what they value, and look at their budget and what they're proposing. Romney wants to let the – he said in the first one hundred days he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. Unchain Wall Street. They're going to put y'all back in chains." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks During A Campaign Rally, Danville, VA, 8/14/12)

Click To Watch

BIDEN HAS REPEATEDLY MADE RACIALLY INSENSITIVE AND OFFENSIVE COMMENTS

Biden Has Implied That Black Americans Are Illiterate

In December 2019, While Biden Was Discussing Illiteracy, He Interrupted Himself To Say He Was Not "Talking About Just People Of Color," But Also "Poor Folks." JOE BIDEN: "My wife has taught for the last — my deceased wife taught grade school. My present wife of 47 years now has taught in high school and grade school, I mean, junior high, high school, and now she's a college professor, a community college professor." Mr. Biden lost his first wife, Neilia, and their daughter in a car accident in 1972. "And the people who don't show up on the nights when there's a parent-teacher meeting are not people who in fact don't care, but folks from poor backgrounds. They don't show up because they're embarrassed. They're embarrassed the teacher's going to say — and it's hard to say, 'Well, I can't read,' or 'I don't …' I'm talking about not just people of color, but poor folks. And so there's this about being able to give people a kind of help they desperately want without being embarrassed in getting the help, without being embarrassed that they're seeking the help." (Joe Biden, "Joe Biden-New York Times Editorial Board Interview," The New York Times, 12/16/19)

Click To Watch

• Biden's Comments Were Seen As "Implying That Black Americans Struggle To Read." "Biden has also faced criticism for implying that black Americans struggle to read, affecting their ability to help their children. In response to the Times' question about how the country should address the legacy of slavery, Biden told a story about his father — a 'well-read, high-school-educated guy' — not wanting to tour colleges with his son because he was embarrassed he hadn't attended college himself. Then he mentioned his wife's experience as a teacher in public schools and at community college." (Kalyn Belsha, "'Dysfunctional Homes,' 'Play The Radio': When Biden Talks About Poverty And Parenting, Criticism Often Follows," Chalkbeat, 2/28/20)

In 2019, Biden Claimed A Major Problem Black Communities Face Is Illiteracy, Saying Black "Parents Can't Read Or Write Themselves." "Mr. Biden said one problem black communities face is that the 'parents can't read or write themselves.'" (Stephanie Saul, Astead Herndon, And Jonathan Martin, "Biden Needs Black Voters To Lift His Campaign. But He Has Competition.," The New York Times, 2/13/20)

• Biden Made The Claim While Speaking To A Group Of Black Mayors In Georgia, Which "Shocked And Frustrated" Many In Attendance. "Mr. Biden has caused some of his own problems. During a private meeting with prominent black mayors in Georgia last year, according to three people with direct knowledge of the gathering, he caused a stir when answering a question about education reform. Mr. Biden said one problem black communities face is that the 'parents can't read or write themselves,' a remark that shocked and frustrated many in the close-knit group." (Stephanie Saul, Astead Herndon, And Jonathan Martin, "Biden Needs Black Voters To Lift His Campaign. But He Has Competition.," The New York Times, 2/13/20)

Biden Has Equated Being A Minority With Being Poor

In August 2019, Joe Biden Said That "Poor Kids Are Just As Bright As White Kids" Equating Black Children With Poor Kids. "Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign said Friday he 'misspoke' after he came under fire for a gaffe he made during an Asian and Latino Coalition PAC event Wednesday night in Iowa, saying 'poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.' 'We have this notion that somehow if you're poor, you cannot do it, poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids. Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids. I really mean it. But think how we think about it. We think now we're going to dumb it down. They can do anything anybody else can do give it a shot,' Biden said at the coalition event to applause." (Molly Nagle and John Verhovek, "Biden 'Misspoke' About 'Poor Kids' Being 'Just As Bright' As 'White Kids': Campaign," ABC News, 8/9/19)

• Joe Biden: "We Have This Notion That Somehow If You're Poor You Cannot Do It … Poor Kids Are Just As Bright And Just As Talented As White Kids. (Joe Biden, Remarks At The Asian & Latino Coalition Town Hall, Des Moines, IA, 8/8/19)

Click To Watch

In October 2007, In An Interview With The Washington Post Editorial Board, "Biden … Stumbled Through A Discourse On Race And Education, Leaving The Impression That He Believes One Reason That So Many District Of Columbia Schools Fail Is The City's High Minority Population." (Shailagh Murray, "Biden Stumbles In Interview," The Washington Post, 10/25/07)

• Trying To Explain Why Some Schools Perform Better Than Others, Biden Said, "There's Less Than 1 Percent Of The Population Of Iowa That Is African American. There Is Probably Less Than 4 Or 5 Percent That Are Minorities. What Is In Washington?" "'There's less than 1 percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than 4 or 5 percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with,' Biden said. He went on to discuss the importance of parental involvement in reading to children and how 'half this education gap exists before the kid steps foot in the classroom.'" (Shailagh Murray, "Biden Stumbles In Interview," The Washington Post, 10/25/07)

Biden Has Repeatedly Referred To Black Women as Being "From The Hood"

In May 2019, Biden Said That The Obama Administration "Literally" Went "Into The Hood" Of Detroit To Help Find Women Of Color For A Coding Program. JOE BIDEN:"But here is what we found out, as we came through bankruptcy as it applies to a lot of cities. As they came through bankruptcy, they found out as we got back in the deal that we were able to provide for a significant increase in the services and capabilities that were available there in terms of everything from street lights to buses because most don't have cars and trains etc…. What happened? We found out that when the exodus occurred, the people who – they didn't know how to turn on – the city did not know how to turn on the street lights. The water system, the sewer system is all computerized. We needed people who knew how to code and they all left and moved, black and white they moved. So what did we do, we went out and got an organization – if you're a business person and you want to get a tech person you go to this particular organization and we said 'come in and find us people who can do this job' and through a program we had through community college is a program that - look put together a program for us where we can teach people how to code. So when they went out, literally into the hood, and they found turned out 54 they happened to be all women, the vast majority were women of color. No one with more than a high school degree, ages 24-54 and – and almost a third of them only had a GED." (Joe Biden, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Des Moines, Iowa, 5/1/19)

Click To Watch

Biden Has Talked About The "Black Sections" Of Town

In June 2007, In A Response To A Question About AIDS In The Black Community, Biden Replied That He Went To "The Black Sections Of [His] Town … Trying To Get Black Men To Understand It's Not Unmanly To Wear A Condom." "Delaware Sen. Joe Biden's trademark blunt talk set up the liveliest and one of the frankest admissions in a gathering of presidential candidates so far this campaign. In response to a question about AIDS in the black community at Thursday's Democratic presidential forum at Howard University, Biden said, 'I spent last summer going through the black sections of my town holding rallies in parks trying to get black men to understand it's not unmanly to wear a condom. Getting women to understand they can say no. Getting people in the position where testing matters. I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack [Obama] got tested for AIDS. There's no shame in being tested for AIDS.'" (Robert Yoon and Alexander Mooney, "Blunt Talk From Biden. . . And Obama," CNN, 6/28/07)

Click To Watch

The San Antonio Express-News' Cary Clack: "Do People Still Refer To Their Cities And Towns In This Way?" "'Black sections of town'? Do people still refer to their cities and towns in this way? Even if the answer is yes, Biden lives in Wilmington, Del., where according to the 2000 Census, the black population is 56.4 percent. Black isn't just a section of Wilmington; it's getting to the point that it will be all of Wilmington. It would be like someone saying that they spent last summer going through the Mexican American sections of San Antonio." (Cary Clack, Op-Ed, "Biden's Message Tangled By Sloppiness," The San Antonio Express-News, 7/3/07)

Biden Called Obama "Articulate" And "Clean"

In January 2007, Just After Launching His Presidential Campaign, Biden Called Then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) "The First Mainstream African-American Who Is Articulate And Bright And Clean And A Nice-Looking Guy." "Biden is taking some heat for comments he made to the New York Observer, in which he said of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a rival for the nomination: 'I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.'" (Jake Tapper, "A Biden Problem: Foot In Mouth," ABC News, 1/31/07)

Click To Watch

• Biden Later Apologized And Them Blamed His Mother Saying "My Mother Has An Expression: Clean As A Whistle, Sharp As A Tack." "Biden issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying: 'I deeply regret any offense my remark in the New York Observer might have caused anyone. That was not my intent and I expressed that to Sen. Obama.' Biden also spoke to reporters in a conference call Wednesday afternoon and said the remark was taken out of context. 'Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate that the Democratic or Republican Party has produced at least since I've been around,' Biden said on the call. 'And he's fresh. He's new. He's smart. He's insightful. And I really regret that some have taken totally out of context my use of the world 'clean.'' Biden said he was referring to a phrase used by his mother. 'My mother has an expression: clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack,' Biden said." ("Biden's Description Of Obama Draws Scrutiny," CNN, 2/9/07)

Biden Said "I Know" Obama Has Been Tested For AIDS

In June 2007, Biden Said That Both He And Barack Obama Have Been Tested For AIDS. SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "I spent last summer going through the black sections of my town holding rallies in parks trying to get black men to understand that it's not unmanly to wear a condom, getting women to understand that they can say 'no,' getting people into the position where testing matters. I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack [Obama] got tested for AIDS. There's no shame in being tested for AIDS. It is an important thing because the fact of the matter is in the community – in the communities engaged in denial – they're engaged in denial, no one wants to talk about it in the community and we do not have enough leaders in the community and outside the community demanding to face the reality, confront them. Men in the community as well as the women letting them know that there are alternatives." SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL}: "Tavis, I just got to make clear, I got tested with Michelle, when we were in Kenya in Africa. I don't want any confusion here about what's going on." BIDEN: "And I got tested to save my life because I had a 13 pints of blood transfusion." TAVIS SMILEY: "And I am sure Michelle appreciates you clarifying that." OBAMA: "In public." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks During The PBS All American Forum At Howard University, Washington, DC, 6/28/07)

• Biden: "I Know Barack [Obama] Got Tested For AIDS. There's No Shame In Being Tested For AIDS. It Is An Important Thing Because The Fact Of The Matter Is In The Community" (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks During The PBS All American Forum At Howard University, Washington, DC, 6/28/07)
• Obama: "Tavis, I Just Got To Make Clear, I Got Tested With Michelle, When We Were In Kenya In Africa. I Don't Want Any Confusion Here About What's Going On." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks During The PBS All American Forum At Howard University, Washington, DC, 6/28/07)

Click To Watch

Biden Said Black Youth Were "Predators" That Are "Beyond The Pale"

In A 1993 Speech On The Senate Floor About The 1994 Crime Bill, Biden Referred To Young Black Men As A "Cadre Of Youth" Who Have Become "Predators" That Are "Beyond The Pale" Who Need To Be "[Taken] Out Of Society." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "And left wingers in my party say no that is not what we should do but politically that consensus has been arrived at. I acknowledge that was not the consensus in the 60's but it is today. This is the second thing we all have agreed upon and that is unless we do something about that cadre of young people – tens of thousands of them born out of wedlock without parents, without supervision, without any structure, without any conscience developing because they literally – because they literally have not been socialized. They literally, have not had an opportunity – we should focus on them now not out of a liberal instinct for love brother and humanity but I think that is a good instinct but for simple pragmatic reasons. If we don't, they will – or a portion of them will become the predators 15 years from now and madam president we have predators on our streets that society has in-fact in part because of its neglect created. Again, it does not mean because we created them that we somehow forgive them or do not take them out of society to protect my family and you from them. They are beyond the pale, many of those people – beyond the pale and it is a sad commentary on society. We have no choice but to take them out of society and the truth is that we do not know how to rehabilitate them at that point and that is the sad truth. You're looking at the fella who is one of the primary architects of the sentencing commission." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks On The Senate Floor, 11/18/93)

Click To Watch

Biden Referred To A Black Band Member As "Michael Jackson" And "Prince"

In May 1985, Biden Introduced A Black Band Member As "Michael Jackson" Who He Said Was "Soon To Become Prince." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "Now, the next man I'd like you to meet and y'all got to sit down for this because y'all got to stand up – we're about to have some important people come out in a minute but there is one more band member that I want you to meet. Ladies and gentlemen, our vocals tonight Michael Jackson. Michael can you please stand. Thank you, thank you very much, soon to become prince as just pointed out to me." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At A Democratic Congressional Dinner, Washington, DC,, 5/8/85)

• Biden Was Speaking A $1,000 A Plate Democratic Fundraising Dinner. "During a 1980s fundraising dinner, Joe Biden singled out a black vocalist and introduced him to a crowd of Democrats and lobbyists as "Michael Jackson" and then "Prince," two of the most famous black singers at the time. The quip came during the $1,000-a-plate 1985 Democratic Congressional Dinner held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., nearly 35 years ago. The event, attended overwhelmingly by white diners, was held to raise money for Democratic campaigns in the Senate and the House." (Zachary Halaschak, "Joe Biden Introduced Black Singer As 'Michael Jackson' At Democratic Dinner," Washington Examiner, 1/9/20)

Click To Watch

Biden Referred To Jesse Jackson As "Boy"

In 1984, Biden Used The Word "Boy" To Refer To Jesse Jackson. "Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), while praising Democratic presidential candidate Jesse L. Jackson, used the word 'boy' to refer to him and Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.) during an informal news conference here late Friday night. Jackson 'is one of the brightest guys around,' Biden said in remarks made after a speech. 'That boy ain't no dummy, just like Gary Hart, that boy ain't no dummy either.'" (Tom Sherwood, "Biden Refers To Jackson And Hart As 'Boy,'" The Washington Post, 5/13/84)

Biden Said He Opposed Busing Because He Did Not Want To Have His Kids Grow Up In "A Racial Jungle"

In July 1977, Biden Said That Busing Would Cause His Children To Grow Up In "A Racial Jungle." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "Unless we do something about this, my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle with tensions having built so high that it is going to explode at some point. We have got to make some move on this. You say I am throwing the brick. I am not as good at analogies and homilies as all of you are, but I think pushing busing in a way in which it goes beyond the constitutional mandates is like throwing a bus through the civil rights window."(Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 7/22/77)

Biden Compared Himself To A "Token Black"

In A 1974 Interview, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) Made An Analogy Of Himself As A 29-Year Old In The Senate To Being A "Token Black." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "I am a 29-year-old oddball, the only reason I was able to raise the money was I was able to have a national constituency to run for office. Because I was 29, I'm like the token black or the token woman, I'm the token young person." (PBS' "The Advocates," 2/6/74)

• Biden: "I'm Like The Token Black Or The Token Woman, I'm The Token Young Person." (PBS' "The Advocates," 2/6/74)

Click To Watch

Biden Referred To Slaves As "Brothers"

During A 1973 Speech, Biden Described How People Came To The United States And Said "We All Came Here" Voluntarily "With The Exception Of A Few Of My Brothers Who Were Forced To Come." SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D-DE): "We all came here, with the exception of a few of my brothers who were forced to come. We all came here because we didn't like it where it was, because power had corrupted and because we were going to build a system that built into that system the inability of power and too much of it to reside in any one place."(Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At The City Club Of Cleveland, 1973)

Click To Listen

Biden Referred To Black Men As "Colored Guys"

In 1970, Biden Criticized The "Far Left" ACLU For Defending "Colored Guys" On Shaky Grounds But Refusing To Help "Rednecks" Who "Are Usually People With Very Real Concerns. "As early as 1970, when he was a member of Delaware's New Castle County Council, the 27-year-old future vice president used the type of hyperbolic language that was to become his trademark. He lambasted the 'far left' and the American Civil Liberties Union, a historic bastion of liberalism, on starkly racial grounds. 'I have some friends on the far left, and they can justify to me the murder of a white deaf mute for a nickel by five colored guys,' he said in a Nov. 11, 1970, interview with the News Journal of Delaware. 'They say the black men had been oppressed and so on. But they can't justify some Alabama farmers tar and feathering an old colored woman. I suspect the ACLU would leap to defend the five black guys. But no one would go down to help the 'rednecks.'' He added: "They are both products of an environment. The truth is somewhere between the two poles. And 'rednecks' are usually people with very real concerns, people who lack the education and skills to express themselves quietly and articulately.'" (Alana Goodman, "Biden Defended 'Rednecks' And Denounced 'Knee-Jerk Liberals' As He Built His Political Career," Washington Examiner, 6/17/19)

• Biden: "I Have Some Friends On The Far Left, And They Can Justify To Me The Murder Of A White Deaf Mute For A Nickel By Five Colored Guys." (Jane Harriman, "Joe Biden: Hope For Democratic Party In '72?" Delaware News Journal, 11/11/70)
• Biden: "They Say The Black Men Had Been Oppressed And So On. But They Can't Justify Some Alabama Farmers Tar And Feathering An Old Colored Woman. I Suspect The ACLU Would Leap To Defend The Five Black Guys. But No One Would Go Down To Help The 'Rednecks.'" (Jane Harriman, "Joe Biden: Hope For Democratic Party In '72?" Delaware News Journal, 11/11/70)
• Biden: "They Are Both Products Of An Environment. The Truth Is Somewhere Between The Two Poles. And 'Rednecks' Are Usually People With Very Real Concerns, People Who Lack The Education And Skills To Express Themselves Quietly And Articulately." (Jane Harriman, "Joe Biden: Hope For Democratic Party In '72?" Delaware News Journal, 11/11/70)

Click To View Original Article

BIDEN HAS PREVIOUSLY SAID HE DOES NOT FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR RIGHTING AMERICA'S RACIAL PROBLEMS

In 1975, Biden Told A Delaware Newspaper That He Did Not Buy The Belief That The "Black Man" Should Get A Head Start On The "White Man" Just Because Of The 300 Year History Of Suppression Of African Americans. "When Joe Biden was a freshman senator in the mid-1970s, his home state of Delaware, like other hotspots across the country, was engulfed in a bitter battle over school busing, debating whether children should be sent to schools in different neighborhoods to promote racial diversity. Biden took a lead role in the fight, speaking out repeatedly and forcefully against sending white children to majority-black schools and black children to majority-white schools. He played down the persistence of overt racism and suggested that the government should have a limited role in integration. 'I do not buy the concept, popular in the '60s, which said, 'We have suppressed the black man for 300 years and the white man is now far ahead in the race for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back, to even the race,' Biden told a Delaware-based weekly newspaper in 1975. 'I don't buy that.'" (Matt Viser, "Biden's Tough Talk On 1970s School Desegregation Plan Could Get New Scrutiny In Today's Democratic Party," The Washington Post, 3/7/19)

In 1975, Biden Commented On Slavery And Reparations Saying That He "[Doesn't] Feel Responsible For The Sins Of My Father And Grandfather." "But I do not buy the concept, popular in the 60's, which said: 'we have suppressed the black man for 300 years, and the white man is now far ahead in the 'race' for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back to even the 'race.' I don't buy that. I don't feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation. And I'll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago." (Sen. Joe Biden, Congressional Record, 210/2/1975, p. S31343)