Senator Cory Booker once again took a swipe at former Vice President Joe Biden, asserting during an interview on Sunday’s Meet the Press that he is “causing pain with his words” on racial issues.
Booker began by criticizing Biden over his response to being called out by Kamala Harris for his civil rights record on Thursday night’s debate stage.
“Whoever the next president is going to be really needs to be someone who can talk openly and honestly about race with vulnerability because none of us are perfect, but really call this country to common ground, to reconciliation,” Booker said. “I’m not sure if Vice President Biden is up to that task, given the way this last three weeks have played out.”
Next, Booker blasted Biden over his recent “kid wearing a hoodie” comment that sparked outrage among liberals this week. Biden got himself in trouble this time by telling Fox News that “we’ve got to recognize that kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate and not a gangbanger.” Though he followed this remark up by saying that “there are too many black men, and might I add women, in prison,” the first line was enough to spur an internet mob against him.
Joe Biden: "We've got to recognize that kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate and not a gangbanger." 😬 pic.twitter.com/67HFGjPON8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 28, 2019
Booker had immediately blasted the former VP for the comment, tweeting that “this isn’t about a hoodie. It’s about a culture that sees a problem with a kid wearing a hoodie in the first place.”
This isn’t about a hoodie. It’s about a culture that sees a problem with a kid wearing a hoodie in the first place. Our nominee needs to have the language to talk about race in a far more constructive way. https://t.co/c2BFSSOHro
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 28, 2019
Booker addressed the comment again on meet the press, slamming Biden for his role in the 1994 Crime Bill.
“A lot of Democrats involved in the 1994 Crime Bill have spoken openly with vulnerability, talking about their mistakes. So that doesn’t disqualify you. But we have seen from the Vice President over the last month is an inability to talk candidly about the mistakes he made, about things he could’ve done better, about how some of the decisions he made at the time in difficult context actually have resulted in really bad outcomes. And this, this bad culture where you can’t admit mistakes, when you can’t speak to your vulnerabilities and your imperfections; we all have them,” Booker began. “But when it comes to difficult issues of race, if you can’t talk openly and honestly about your own development on these issues, I think it’s very hard to lead our country forward so that we can actually deal with our past and rise to a better common cause and common future.”
The Senator continued on to say that Biden is “causing a lot of frustration and even pain with his words.”
“We have one destiny in this nation and right now the Vice President to me is not doing a good job at bringing folks together. In fact, and I’ve heard this from people across the country, he’s causing a lot of frustration, and even pain, with his words,” Booker said.
