In June 2020, Joe Biden said George Floyd’s death made more of a global impact than Martin Luther King Jr.
QUICK FACTS:
- While campaigning for the 2020 presidency, Biden compared Floyd’s death to the coverage of the civil rights movement, Breitbart reported.
- “Even Dr. King’s assassination did not have the worldwide impact that George Floyd’s death did,” Biden said. “Because just like television changed the civil rights movement for the better when they saw Bull Connor’s dog ripping the clothes off of elderly black women who were trying to go to church, and fire hoses ripping the skin off of young kids.”
- Biden claimed that social media videos taken of George Floyd mobilized people to participate in justice issues.
- The video was reposted on numerous social media platforms Monday, many ridiculing and expressing concern over Biden’s comments.
WHAT CRITICS SAID OVER BIDEN’S REMARKS:
“I believe that Biden continues to speak from his basement, from a reality that is different from what’s happening in the real world. Why is it necessary to compare Martin Luther King Jr. and George Floyd,” asked MLK’s niece Alveda King.
BACKGROUND:
- Biden spent a large majority of his time on the campaign trail using social justice issues as a focal point, releasing a position statement called “Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America.”
- He talked about how fighting for civil rights while tackling systemic racism had been a driving force throughout his career in politics.
- Critics claim that for the past year of his time in the White House, Biden has failed to act on any of these statements and initiatives.
