Former Vice President Joe Biden can’t take the black community “for granted,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
Though he commands strong support within the black community, the presumptive Democratic nominee put that firewall to the test Friday when he said to Charlamagne tha God on The Breakfast Club: “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
Backlash and an apology ensued, and during that turbulent news cycle, Johnson reminded viewers on CBSN that Biden can’t just assume most black people will support him and must earn their votes.
“You cannot take the African American vote for granted,” Johnson told CBSN’s Reena Ninan. “You either win or lose with the support of the African American community.”
Johnson urged the Biden campaign to use this as a “lesson” moving forward.
“In order for his campaign to win, he must garner more support from the African American community, and those comments take away from that,” he added.
Biden issued an apology for the comment after a senior adviser on Biden’s campaign claimed his comment was made “in jest.”
“I was much too cavalier. I know that the comments have come off like I was taking the African American vote for granted, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Biden said. “I’ve never, never, ever taken the African American community for granted.”
“No one should have to vote for any party, based on their race, their religion, their background. There are African Americans who think that Trump was worth voting for. I don’t think so,” he added. “I’m prepared to put my record against his. That was the bottom line, and it was really unfortunate. I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
In a subsequent interview, Charlamagne tha God called out Biden’s political track record on race and mass incarceration, arguing that “if you created legislation that hurt [the black community], then you have to create legislation that helps.”
