Biden mistakenly claims support of only black woman in US Senate

• Former Vice President Joe Biden said at the Democratic debate on Wednesday he had the support of the only black woman elected to the Senate — to which Sen. Kamala Harris replied, “That’s not true!”
• Biden was discussing marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform when he sought to highlight how he has earned the support of former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, the first black female senator.
• But he misspoke, sparking raucous laughter from Sen. Kamala Harris, currently the only black woman elected to the Senate.
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Former Vice President Joe Biden tried during Wednesday’s debate to talk up his support among black voters, but ended up accidentally claiming he had the support of the only black woman elected to the Senate — a title that currently belongs to one of his opponents.

Biden was discussing marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform when he sought to highlight how he has earned the support of former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, the first black female senator.

But Biden mistakenly said he had the support of the “only” black woman elected to the Senate, prompting raucous laughter from Sen. Kamala Harris, a black woman elected to the Senate who happens to be running for president against him.

“I’m part of that Obama coalition. I come out of the black community in terms of my support, if you notice, I have more people supporting me in the black community that have vouched for me because they know who I am… The only African-American woman who’s ever been elected to the United States Senate,” Biden said.

—The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 21, 2019

 

“No, No,” Harris said. “That’s not true. The other one is here!”

Biden responded, “I said the first.”

It wasn’t Biden’s first gaffe of the night — not long beforehand, he had drawn stifled laughter from the audience when he suggested combatting domestic violence by “punching at it and punching at it and punching at it.”