Joe Biden believes Democrats lost the 2016 presidential election because they did not campaign hard enough for black support.
“Every time they’ve run, whether it’s — take Carter or Clinton or Barack — they’ve had overwhelming support from the African American community,” the former vice president said in a Sunday interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd. “They’ve had overwhelming support from minorities. I have overwhelming support.
“You can’t win — you can’t take it for granted. Last time we ran, it was basically taken for granted,” he continued. “I’m the only one who has the record and has the background and has the support. They know me. They know who I am.”
In 2016, over 4 million people who had voted for former President Barack Obama in 2012 skipped the election, and over a third of the voters who stayed home were black. Then-candidate Donald Trump pitched black voters with his line, “What the hell do you have to lose?” Ultimately, his campaign saw a 2% increase in black support from 2012 while Clinton’s was 5% lower than Obama’s support, according to exit polls.
Biden’s campaign has struggled during the first two primaries, which occurred in states where over 90% of the population was white. The Delaware Democrat has claimed black voters will flock to him as the primaries take a turn to more diverse states.
While Biden has polled better with black voters than any of his competitors, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has quickly chipped away at his support.
“Are you concerned that $300 million has gotten Michael Bloomberg half your support among African Americans?” Todd asked.
“Sixty billion dollars can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can’t erase your record,” the former vice president responded. “There’s a lot to talk about with Michael Bloomberg. You all are going to start focusing on him like you have on me, which I’m not complaining, like you have on me the last six months. You’re going to focus on him. His position on issues relating to the African American community, from stop and frisk to the way he talked about Obama.”
So far, Bloomberg has avoided being on the Democratic presidential debate stage because he has refused to accept donations, which would qualify him if he were to reach a certain threshold. Biden said he’s “anxious” to debate the former mayor, who came under fire last week for leaked audio showing him defending stop and frisk, on the issues.
