Joe Biden Compared "Poor Kids" To "White Kids" In A Campaign Speech
Joe Biden's record on race and civil rights has already faced scrutiny during his 2020 presidential bid, following debate stage comments from California Sen. Kamala Harris. But the former vice president faced even more pushback this week following a remark he made during a campaign stop in Iowa on Aug. 8. While discussing education at a town hall in Des Moines, Biden told Asian and Latinx voters that "poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids," before trying to correct himself. A video of Joe Biden's "poor kids" and "white kids" gaffe has since made its way around social media after being posted by someone on President Donald Trump's campaign team, and many people have expressed exasperation.
"We have this notion that somehow if you're poor you cannot do it," Biden said during the town hall. "Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids — wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids. No, I really mean it, but think how we think about it." Elite Daily reached out to Biden's campaign for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Back in December 2018, Biden described himself as a gaffe machine, though he said it was better to be that than "a guy who can't tell the truth," apparently referring to Trump. Following his comment in Iowa, Biden's campaign manager Kate Bedingfield issued a statement saying that the vice president "misspoke and immediately corrected himself" at the Iowa town hall, and then compared Biden's record with Trump's.
"Joe Biden has spent his life fighting for civil rights and the dignity of all people," the campaign's statement said, per CNN. Biden's campaign also criticized Trump's team as being "patently disingenuous" for publishing the video without noting the former vice president's "immediate correction."
You can see a video of the "poor kids" gaffe here:
Although Biden's campaign quickly argued that the former vice president had simply made a mistake, some of Biden's progressive critics have suggested that his so-called "gaffes" on race are indicative of what he actually thinks. Back in 2007, when Biden and Barack Obama were both running for president, Biden faced backlash after describing Obama as “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” A CNN report from that year indicated that Biden reached out and apologized to Obama, but his remarks nonetheless drew heightened scrutiny. The following tweets make it clear that some Twitter users are still concerned about how Biden talks about race, especially after his most recent comment about "poor kids" and "white kids." Elite Daily reached out to Biden's campaign for any additional comment or response to the revival of criticisms now, but did not immediately hear back.
This particular comment from the Iowa town hall wasn't Biden's only slip-up on Aug 8. According to The Washington Post, Biden accidentally referred to former British Prime Minister Theresa May as Margaret Thatcher — a mistake he previously made earlier this year at a rally in South Carolina. Thatcher, the first woman to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom, was in office from 1979 to 1990. Biden also confusingly said in Iowa that Democrats should "choose truth over facts," after saying that his party chooses "science over fiction" and "unity over division."
The Washington Post reported that despite these apparent "gaffes," Biden is still leading the polls in Iowa, though Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is starting to catch up with him. But Biden's latest comments evidently have many Democrats wondering how many slips the former vice president can get away with — especially when the stakes are so high heading into the 2020 election. Only a year and three months to go, folks.
