Nation: Biden has another ‘oops’ moment.
Former Vice President Joe Biden raised eyebrows Thursday during a speech in Iowa when he said that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids,” an apparent gaffe for a Democratic presidential candidate whose record on race has come under intense scrutiny during the primary.
Biden was speaking on education and the need to challenge students at a town hall hosted by the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines when he made the remark, and then sought to recover from it.
“We should challenge students in these schools,” Biden said. “We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
He paused, then added: “Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids — no I really mean it, but think how we think about it.”
Although the host group was made up of Asian and Latino activists, the crowd that Biden was addressing Thursday was largely white.
The comments, which were captured on video and were part of a lengthy speech, were quickly circulated by President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and other critics of the former vice president. Trump has a record of making incendiary comments about race, including saying that Mexicans are criminals and rapists and that there were “very fine people on both sides” of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He more recently said four congresswomen of color should “go back” to the countries they came from, even though three were born in the United States and the fourth is a naturalized citizen.
In a statement Friday, Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said Trump’s campaign was seeking to turn attention away from “his atrocious record of using racism to divide this country.”
“Vice President Biden misspoke and immediately corrected himself during a refrain he often uses to make the point that all children deserve a fair shot, and children born into lowerincome circumstances are just as smart as those born to wealthy parents,” Bedingfield said. “Joe Biden has spent his life fighting for civil rights and the dignity of all people.”
Biden is among the Democratic presidential candidates who have descended on the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. A poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers released Thursday had Biden in the lead with 28% support. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was second at 19% support, followed by Harris with 11% and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont with 9%.