OPINION:
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden sat down last Friday for an online interview with Charlamagne tha God on his popular radio show “The Breakfast Club,” at one point telling the host that if he supports President Trump, “then you ain’t black.”
Here’s the exchange:
Charlamagne: Listen, you gotta come see us when you come to New York, Vice President Biden. It’s a long way until November, we got more questions.
Mr. Biden: You got more questions? Well, I’ll tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.
Don’t spend any time imagining what would’ve happened if President Trump had said anything remotely like that — your head will explode. But because it was a Democrat, the media mostly ignored the story, quickly forgiving Mr. Biden after he later said he was just joshing (even though his campaign motto is “No Malarkey”).
Despite the MSM’s efforts, there was much blowback, and the presumptive Democratic nominee was eventually pushed into sorta, kinda apologizing. Mr. Biden expressed regret for his remarks during a phone conversation with The U.S. Black Chambers Inc., and offered the following thoughts about his conversation with Charlamagne.
“The bottom line of all of this perhaps I was much too cavalier,” Mr. Biden said. “I know that the comments have come off like I was taking the African-American vote for granted but nothing could be further from the truth … I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy.”
But despite the widespread outrage and heavily covered gaffe, Fox News noted that another prominent news network hardly bothered to cover the story.
“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 wrote.
Others on social media noticed, too.
“Fascinating to watch how the left-leaning cable networks have covered Biden’s ’you ain’t black’ comment. MSNBC has discussed it nearly every hour … CNN hasn’t mentioned it once,” former CNN digital producer-turned-media critic Steve Krakauer wrote on Twitter.
And Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel shredded the liberal network for ignoring the story.
“It’s been over 5 HOURS since Biden told Black people they ’ain’t black’ if they support @realDonaldTrump. How many times has CNN mentioned his bigoted comment on air? ZERO. Unreal,” Ms. McDaniel tweeted.
Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley chimed in, too. “Biden told a black radio host that ’If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.’ Crickets on CNN and other sites thus far. Biden remains constructively bunkered by the media from fallout for outrageous comments,” he wrote on Twitter.
A slew of prominent black celebrities and politicians also blasted Mr. Biden for the comment — which clearly illustrates that the 77-year-old Democrat thinks all blacks should support him.
“I cringed, no question about that,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat and the nation’s highest-ranking black lawmaker, said Tuesday during an appearance on ABC’s “The View” when co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked about Mr. Biden’s gaffe.
Other liberal news outlets reported on Mr. Biden’s blatant racism — then dismissed it. “Come on. Biden’s ’you ain’t black’ comment was clearly a joke,” a Washington Post writer wrote.
When CNN did weigh in, they wrote a piece headlined: “What Biden said was outrageous. But, some say, so was the reaction.”
That wasn’t the only mess Mr. Biden got into on Friday. In another twist, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People felt compelled to tell Mr. Biden that the organization has never endorsed him.
“Yesterday, former Vice President Joe Biden made a comment about the NAACP’s endorsement,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement on Saturday. “We want to clarify that the NAACP is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse candidates for political office at any level.”
The statement from America’s oldest civil-rights organization came after Mr. Biden claimed during that interview with “The Breakfast Club” that the group has endorsed him every time he has run for office.
While everyone mostly moved on, there was one other guy who wasn’t falling for Mr. Biden’s phony apology — Charlamagne tha God. The radio host said he was not impressed with his conversation with the former vice president.
“My takeaway from the conversation was I heard him talking about things he did for black people back in the day, but you know ’What have you done for me lately’ is my motto,” he said Friday.
By Sunday, he was still steaming. “I don’t even care about the words and the lip service. The apology is cool but the best apology is actually a black agenda,” he said in an interview with MSNBC. “You know, they got to make some real policy commitments to black people.”
By Tuesday, the story had completely disappeared, at least from the mainstream media. But you can bet your bottom dollar that the Trump campaign won’t forget.
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.
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