Radio host Charlamagne tha God attacked presumptive Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden for what he called a discriminatory voting record in the U.S. Senate.
“I think, you know, Biden’s record in the Senate actually reflects very racist legislation, but he has a chance to correct that by doing right by black people,” Charlamagne said this week.
Biden was interviewed by Charlamagne earlier this month and sparked headlines after suggesting black voters “ain’t black” if they consider voting for President Trump this fall.
“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,” the campaign later said.
But Charlamagne suggested Biden has bigger issues than a verbal gaffe along the campaign trail.
“He did very well today in Philadelphia, you know, he said a lot of things that I wanted to hear, and I know it’s dream-selling season, and politicians say what they need to in order to get elected, but I really enjoyed it,” he said. “But I need some action, like I need him to really lean into blackness now.”
On Wednesday, the Washington Examiner reported Biden proposed a “Police Officer’s Bill of Rights” just months after the police beating of Rodney King in 1991, which “aimed at strengthening protections when law enforcement officers were accused of misconduct.”
Biden is still in the process of vetting a vice-presidential pick. On the list are several African American women, such as Florida Rep. Val Demings, Stacey Abrams, and California Sen. Kamala Harris. White candidates include Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“I think that would be suicide for Joe Biden’s campaign,” Charlamagne told the Washington Post about the prospect of Biden selecting a white running mate. “If he did that, especially at this moment, after the comments that he made … he would be a fool not to put a black woman as his running mate.”
