CNN anchor Brianna Keilar got into a heated back-and-forth Monday with Biden campaign spokesperson Symone Sanders about the former vice president’s recent comments about “poor kids.”
The conversation centered on comments the 2020 front-runner said last week at a town hall for the Asian & Latino Coalition PAC in Iowa. While speaking about the importance for a strong education regardless of wealth he said, “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids — ” but then he quickly corrected himself, “ — wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids.”
“The statement initially, that still matters, what people say still matters even when it’s corrected. It ignores the fact that there’s a lot of poor white kids in the country, —” Keilar stated.
“Brianna, he corrected himself. This is a false narrative,” Sanders said, cutting Keilar off in the middle of her sentence.
“Simone, I’ve been giving you time to answer, give me time to ask my question,” the host countered. “So I guess my question is ignoring the fact with that statement that there are poor white kids in the country, especially in places that are so essential that say a Joe Biden or any other Democrat win because those are the areas, as you know that President Trump bested Hillary Clinton in to, for Democrats’ devastating effect. Did he miss an opportunity to talk about that?”
Sanders responded, “Brianna, the vice president immediately corrected himself. He didn’t need to wait two, three, four days.”
Keilar pushed back, “That wasn’t my question, that’s not what I’m asking.”
Biden’s campaign manager released a statement about the mistake last Friday, claiming that he “misspoke and immediately corrected himself during a refrain he often uses to make the point that all children deserve a fair shot, and children born into lower-income circumstances are just as smart as those born to wealthy parents.”
