Plus Pages

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Biden's Radio Comments On Blackness Simmered During Weekend

Charlamagne tha God — WWPR 105.1 FM NYC radio host to whom presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden notoriously said Friday, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re voting for me or Trump, then you ain’t black” — warned that Democrats will face a “voter depression” problem in November, thanks to their likely presidential nominee. According to PJ Media, he said the best apology is pro-black policies and it’s time for black voters to put the burden on Democrats to win their votes, not take them for granted.

“Well, on top of possible Russian interference and voter suppression, Dems have to worry about voter depression, and that’s people staying home on Election Day because they just aren’t enthused by the candidate,” Charlamagne tha God told MSNBC host Joy Reid. “You can’t act like this is most important election ever, but run a campaign from your basement, and you know, not make some real policy commitments to the black community, you know, and not listen to some of the demands that the black community [is] making.”



Charlamagne tha God argued that Biden “has to do something that energizes his campaign, that brings some actual enthusiasm to his campaign, so those 4.4 million Obama voters who stayed home in 2016, more than a third of them black, you know, don’t do that this year. You got to make them come out.”

The “you ain’t black” comment may become a serious deterrent to bolstering black turnout, however. Biden rushed to offer a halfhearted apology, but Charlamagne tha God said he didn’t put much stock in it.

“I don’t even care about the words, and the lip service and the apology is cool, but the best apology is actually a black agenda. They got to make some real policy commitments to black people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fox News reports CNN, which often dedicates wall-to-wall coverage for any latest controversy from President Trump, virtually avoided covering Joe Biden's "you ain't black" remarks Friday morning that sparked backlash throughout the day.

Fox News and MSNBC covered the dust-up throughout the day. ABC News, CBS News and NBC News all addressed the controversy on their evening programs.

However, CNN's lack of coverage throughout the day was called out by critics.


George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley pointed out the "crickets" coming from CNN. In the afternoon, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called out the network for going hours without mentioning the controversy.

And the Wasington Times reports Charlamagne tha God, whose real name is Lenard Larry McKelvey, said elevating Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar onto the Democratic presidential ticket would be akin to committing political "suicide."

"I think that would be suicide for Joe Biden's campaign. If he did that, especially at this moment, after the comments that he made ... He would be a fool not to put a black woman as his running mate."

Klobuchar, who is considered a top contender in the race to join Biden on the 2020 ticket, is currently being vetted by Biden's campaign team along with several other high-profile female Democrats.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has lost his mental acuity, saying he “doesn’t know he’s alive.”

“Biden doesn’t know, I mean, he doesn’t know he’s alive,” Trump told 'Full Measure' hosted by Sharyl Attkinsson on WJLA-TV in D-C.

No comments:

Post a Comment