Joe Biden "You Ain't Black" Breakfast Club Comments

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Overview

Joe Biden "You Ain't Black" Breakfast Club Comments refers to the public backlash regarding 2020 presidential candidate Vice President Joe Biden's comments on The Breakfast Club radio show. During the interview, Biden said, "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black." Many online found Biden's comments racist, while others claimed that Biden was comparing his voting record on issues specific to the African American community to President Donald Trump's.

Background

On May 22nd, 2020, Vice President Biden appeared on The Breakfast Club radio show for an interview with host Charlamagne tha God. Toward the end of the interview, Charlamagne asked about Biden's vice presidential pick and whether a black woman would be chosen as his running mate, an aide ended the interview due to time conflicts. The rest of the interview went as followed:

Charlamagne tha God: You can’t do that to black media!

Joe Biden: I do that to white media and black media because my wife has to go on at 6 o’clock. Uh oh, I'm in trouble.

Charlamagne tha God: You gotta come see us when you come to New York, VP Biden.

Joe Biden: I will.

Charlamagne tha God: Because it's a long way until November. We've got more questions.

Joe Biden: You’ve got more questions? Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.

Charlamagne tha God: It don’t have nothing to do with Trump. It has to do with the fact, I want something for my community.

Joe Biden: Take a look at my record, man! I extended the Voting Rights Act 25 years. I have a record that is second to none. The NAACP has endorsed me every time I’ve run. Come on, take a look at my record.

That day, The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM YouTube channel published video of the interview. The post received more than 35,000 views in less than six hours (shown below).

Developments

Online Reaction

That morning, people reacted to the comments online. Threads about the comments were started in various subreddits, including /r/conservative,^[1] /r/politics,^[2] /r/neoliberal^[3] and more.

On Twitter, people also discussed the comments. Republican political action committee tweeted a video of the comments that received more than 2 million views, 16,000 retweets and 14,000 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

.JoeBiden</a>: "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black." <a href="https://twitter.com/cthagod?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">cthagod: "It don't have nothing to do with Trump, it has to do with the fact -- I want something for my community." @breakfastclubam pic.twitter.com/endvWnOIV2

— America Rising (@AmericaRising) May 22, 2020

President Trump posted the video on Facebook, ^[4] resharing comments made by the Trump campaign calling Biden's comment "disgusting." The post received more tahn 554,000 views, 27,000 reactions, 9,600 shares and 8,200 comments in less than six hours (shown below, left).

Twitter user @LATiffani1 tweeted,^[5] "'If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or for Trump then you ain’t black' -Joe Biden Translation: ‘You dumb n****r. I am your massa. I own you boy’ Typical sentiment from the Democrat plantation CEO #JoeBidenRacist." The tweet received more than 3,100 likes and 1,500 retweets in less than six hours (shown below, center).

Biden's senior adviser Symone Sanders defended Biden on Twitter.^[6] She wrote, "Vice President Biden spent his career fighting alongside and for the African American community. He won his party's nomination by earning every vote and meeting people where they are and that's exactly what he intends to do this November. The comments made at the end of the Breakfast Club interview were in jest, but let’s be clear about what the VP was saying: he was making the distinction that he would put his record with the African American community up against Trump’s any day. Period." The tweet received more than 4,700 likes and 1,500 retweets in less than six hours (shown below, right).

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the controversy, inlcuidng The New York Times,^[7] CNN,^[8] Politico,^[9] Fox News, ^[10] The Guardian,^[11] Forbes,^[12] CBS,^[13] NBC^[14] and more.