President Joe Biden sparked waves of negative responses to a shocking — and race-tinged — claim he made during a commencement speech at Howard University on Saturday, a historically black college.
“The most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy,” Biden told the crowd, which applauded his line. “And I’m not saying this because I’m at a Black HBCU. I say it wherever I go.”
Biden was speaking at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. He also expressed a dim view about America’s ongoing struggle against racism, claiming it is “a battle that’s never really over.”
“Let’s be clear: There are those who don’t see you and don’t want this future,” Biden said earlier. “There are those who demonize and pit people against one another. And there are those who do anything and everything, no matter how desperate or immoral, to hold onto power. And that’s never going to be an easy battle.”
BIDEN AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY: "The most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy — and I'm not saying this because I'm at a Black HBCU. I say it wherever I go.”
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 13, 2023
Earlier, he said, “We know American history has not always been a fairy tale. From the start, it’s been a constant push and pull for more than 240 years, between the best of us – the American ideal that we’re all created equal – and the worst of us, a harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart.
“It’s a battle that’s never really over,” he added. “But on the best days, enough of us have the guts and hearts to stand up for the best in us, to choose love over hate, unity over disunity, progress over retreat…”
Biden’s ironic words — literally pitting Americans against each other on the basis of race while decrying it — did not sit well with many Americans who took to social media to rip him for his highly inflammatory and unqualified claim.
“The Democratic Party spent most of the 19th Century and much of the 20th using overt racism to win elections. They are doing again in the 21st century. The racism just looks a lot different than the 19th century version,” Foundation for Economic Education managing editor Jon Miltimore wrote.
He also included a historical political poster that featured a white Democrat running against an opponent who supported rights for black Americans.
The Democratic Party spent most of the 19th Century and much of the 20th using overt racism to win elections.
They are doing again in the 21st century.
The racism just looks a lot different than the 19th century version. pic.twitter.com/anijzjjWlV
— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) May 13, 2023
OutKick.com’s Clay Travis added: “I mean, this is completely bonkers. Did anyone talk like this in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s or even 2010s? Of course not. Yet suddenly white supremacy is the BIGGEST THREAT in America? I don’t even think…”
RNC Research’s Jake Schneider wrote, “Divider-in-chief Joe Biden, at Howard University, says ‘the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy.’”
“Biden just told a bunch of black people that white supremacy is the greatest threat to America,” conservative influencer Elijah Schaffer added.
“REMINDER: Biden delivered a eulogy for segregationist and former KKK “Exalted Cyclops” Robert Byrd,” conservative Steve Guest noted as well.
Another wrote: “This is why White People are being attacked. Our own @POTUS is setting us up. He is giving people permission to assume all White People are White Supremacist. He is definitely and purposely saying it because he’s at all Black Howard University.”
This is why White People are being attacked. Our own @POTUS is setting us up. He is giving people permission to assume all White People are White Supremacist. He is definitely and purposely saying it because he’s at all Black Howard University. #RaceBaiter.
— Katherine Trotter?? (@KatATrotter) May 13, 2023