Congress‘ five black Republican lawmakers, in a new weekly video series, hammered President Biden for his 2020 “you ain’t Black” campaign remark.
“America’s Starting Five” was started by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and features a round table with Reps. Burgess Owens of Utah, Byron Donalds of Florida, John James of Michigan and Wesley Hunt of Texas.
In Thursday’s first episode, the group, which will weekly discuss politics and race, talked about Mr. Biden‘s comment he shared with Charlamagne Tha God, a host on “The Breakfast Club,” a radio show popular with Black millennials.
Mr. Biden stated Black voters had no reason to cast their ballot for President Trump.
“If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden later walked back the remarks during a call with the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce, saying, “I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy. … I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
Mr. Scott wondered how Mr. Biden survives such remarks on a routine basis.
“For Joe Biden, it’s just to me it’s sometimes frustrating, as well as entertaining. It’s frustrating in that Democrats and Joe Biden get away with saying the darndest things and never held accountable by anyone,” Mr. Scott said. “Seriously, the thing is, a White dude is telling me I can’t be Black and not vote for him.”
The group also responded to this Biden remark on the 2020 campaign trail in Iowa: “We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented White kids, wealthy kids, Black kids, Asian kids.”
Mr. James said such comments aren’t gaffes, but what Mr. Biden truly thinks.
“The arrogance of these White liberals condescending not just to African Americans, but to poor kids in general, that he’s talking about a socio-economic divide,” the Michigander said. “He’s talking about us versus them. He’s talking about elites against working class and poor people.”
Following the 2022 election, the Black Republican lawmakers made history, as their Party had not seen as many Black GOPers serving concurrently since the early 1870s.
Although the number is small compared with Democrats, who have 55 Black members from congressional districts and two delegates from the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 118th Congress, it’s still a highwater mark for the GOP on Capitol Hill.