Biden: Some Americans Are 'Just Not Very Good People'

Around 10 to 15% of them, he estimates
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2020 8:32 AM CDT
Biden: 10 to 15% Are 'Just Not Very Good People'
Joe Biden bows his head in prayer as he visits Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Del., Monday, June 1, 2020.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Joe Biden says he wants to bring Americans together—or up to 90% of them, anyway. In a remark that the New York Times likens to Mitt Romney's assertion in 2012 that 47% of Americans are "dependent on government" and Hillary Clinton's 2016 comment about putting half of Trump voters in a "basket of deplorables," Biden was talking about how "good ... we can be as a nation" Thursday night when he commented that "there are probably anywhere from 10 to 15% of the people out there that are just not very good people." "But that’s not who we are," he said, per the Times. "The vast majority of the people are decent, and we have to appeal to that and we have to unite people—bring them together." He said that when a president makes divisive remarks, "you're going to get the worst of us to come out."

The presumptive Democratic nominee, speaking at an online town hall event with black supporters, "appeared to get the figure out of thin air," the Daily Beast notes. During the event, which was hosted by Don Cheadle, Biden discussed racism in America, saying there is a "battle for the soul of this nation" and noting: "Hate didn’t begin with Donald Trump, it’s not going to end with him." He gave what the Times calls a "gentle warning" to an activist planning a Friday night march in Wilmington. "We can’t allow the protesting to overshadow the purpose of the protest," Biden said. “So there's going to be a lot of folks that are going to want to cause trouble. Some cops, but some folks too. It's going to take young leaders like you to change things in the city." (More Joe Biden 2020 stories.)

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