ATLANTA (AP) — Joe Biden suggested on Friday that African Americans who back President Donald Trump “ain’t black,” comments that stirred controversy over whether he was being condescending to voters who could decide whether he wins the White House.
The host, Charlamagne Tha God, pressed Biden on reports that he is considering Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is white, to be vice president and told him black voters “saved your political life in the primaries” and “have things they want from you.”
But with black voters already overwhelmingly opposed to Trump, Biden is also considering candidates such as Klobuchar.
“I thought to myself, as an African American, been black for 54 years, I was struck by the condescension and the arrogance in his comments,” Scott said in a conference call quickly arranged by the Trump campaign.
Black voters helped resurrect Biden’s campaign in this year’s primaries with a second place finish in the Nevada caucuses and a resounding win in the South Carolina primary after he’d started with embarrassing finishes in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire.