MSNBC host Al Sharpton said Friday on “Morning Joe” that it was “offensive” President Joe Biden only asked white reporters questions at his NATO Summit press conference but still expects black voters to support him while leaving them out of the conversation.
Co-host Willie Geist said, “There is deep concern and I know you’re hearing it, too, that Joe Biden could lose it all for Democrats.”
Sharpton said, “I’ m hearing it, yes but I’m also hearing, not so fast because if not Biden, then how do we do a transition that doesn’t put us in a more dangerous position? I was in Milwaukee yesterday doing a eulogy for a black man killed by some hotel guards. People there are in an uproar about that are saying to me, you cannot win Wisconsin without Milwaukee and black turnout. They were saying to me, well, we have questions about Biden’s age, but where do we go? Are they going to try to undermine Kamala Harris? I think that if we’re talking a coalition, you’ve got to remember the basic roots of that coalition, black, Latinos, and labor. You can’t just take for granted, we’re going to go where some people just want to go and abandon someone who has been with us.”
He continued, “I looked at the press conference last night and said, where are the black reporters? I mean, we’re looking at all whites questioning Biden, and black voters are supposed to get in line? I think that a lot of the people that are stepping out there taking things for granted. You notice that maybe only one member of the Congressional Black Caucus has said Biden ought to step aside.”
Sharpton concluded, “Don’t forget, it was the stonewall of the black voter and then the Latino vote that put Biden in nomination. For us to be out of these discussions I think is offensive and elitist.”
Geist said, “The White House determined which reporters got questions yesterday.”
Sharpton said, “That’s who I was addressing.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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