New York City mayor Bill de Blasio took to social media to warn that his White House competition Joe Biden’s claim that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids” is “concerning.”
“We should challenge these students,” Biden told the Asian and Latino Coalition in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday while speaking about education. “We should challenge students in these schools to have advanced placement programs in these schools. 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…”
Realizing he had just committed another gaffe, Biden awkwardly added, “wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids…”
“‘Poor’ kids are just as bright and talented as white kids?” de Blasio subsequently tweeted. “To quickly dismiss @JoeBiden’s words as a mere ‘slip of the tongue’ is as concerning as what he said. We need to have a real conversation about the racism and sexism behind ‘electability.’”