New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took former Vice President Joe Biden to task Friday over comments he made that were widely panned as racially insensitive.
Biden caused a firestorm Thursday when he stated that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids” at a campaign event in Iowa. De Blasio responded by saying people shouldn’t “quickly dismiss” the former vice president’s comments as a slip of the tongue. (RELATED: Biden Says ‘We Choose Truth Over Facts’ In Slip Of The Tongue)
“To quickly dismiss [Biden’s] words as a mere ‘slip of the tongue’ is as concerning as what he said,” the mayor said on Twitter. “We need to have a real conversation about the racism and sexism behind ‘electability.’”
De Blasio is currently in the midst of a long-shot presidential campaign, with most polls showing the New York City mayor polling at zero or 1%. (RELATED: De Blasio On Campaigning During NYC Blackout: ‘It Doesn’t Matter Where You Are’)
Biden’s decades-long political career has been plagued by gaffes, some of which have been criticized as racially insensitive. In 2007, Biden described then-Senator Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” before ultimately serving eight years under Obama as vice president.
