Biden faces backlash for comments on racial diversity among Blacks, apologizes

Joe Biden on Friday apologised for his remarks on the racial diversity of African American and Latino communities, after facing a backlash. The former vice president said that he in no way meant to suggest the African American community is a monolith.

Responding to a question on differing immigration concerns between Cuban and Venezuelan Americans in an interview released on Thursday, Biden had said that the Latino community was incredibly diverse, unlike the African American community.

US President Donald Trump was quick to attack Biden. He said that Biden is no longer worthy of ‘Black vote’. “Wow! Joe Biden just lost the entire African American community. What a ‘dumb’ thing to say,” Trump tweeted.

Realising his mistake, Biden clarified the statements in a series of tweets. “Earlier today, I made some comments about diversity in the African American and Latino communities that I want to clarify. In no way did I mean to suggest the African American community is a monolith — not by identity, not on issues, not at all,” he wrote.

Biden’s campaign said the comment was meant to describe the diversity of political opinion among Latino Americans and was not a judgment on cultural diversity.