Former Vice President Joe Biden is resting institutional racism squarely in the lap of white men to fix in his bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential race.
“We have systemic racism in the United States of America,” the longtime politician said Tuesday. “It exists today, and it’s a white man’s problem. White men are responsible for it, not black men.”
He added that although racism is “overwhelmingly a white man’s problem” it is “visited on people of color.”
Biden made the remarks in a 90-minute interview with reporters at a campaign office in downtown Washington, Politico reported.
He also used the media spotlight to call out lawmakers for not doing more to hold President Donald Trump accountable for his racist rhetoric.
“What presidents say matter,” Biden said. “They can make markets rise and fall. They can send people to war.’’
“They can, in fact, also appeal to the worst damn instincts of human nature,” the former White House official said.
Trump has been heavily criticized for remarks he made on Twitter telling Rep. Ilhan Omar and three other congresswomen of color to “go back” to the “crime infested places from which they came” July 14.
Since then, the words “send her back” have been yelled at a Trump campaign rally and even chanted in response to a California restaurant promotion offering a free side for doing so.
Trump has made no apology for the statements.
“He’s crossed a line so far, even those people who want to go like this,” Biden said, covering his eyes, “aren’t able to do it anymore.”
He told reporters he puts white people in three categories: “those who are flat just prejudiced and are supremacists to some degree”; “folks who are agnostic and don’t give a damn about it”; and “folks who think we should just do something about it.”
