(Headline USA) President Joe Biden claimed this week that House Republicans were “worse” than the segregationists he worked with during his time in the U.S. Senate.
Biden made the comment during a fundraising event in San Francisco on Wednesday.
“I’ve served with real racists,” he said, according to the New York Times. “I’ve served with Strom Thurmond. I’ve served with all these guys that have terrible records on race. But guess what? [House Republicans] are worse.”
Strom Thurmond was a segregationist lawmaker who served as the Democratic governor of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951 before serving 47 years as a U.S. senator. He voted against both versions of the Civil Rights Act.
“By the time Strom left, he did terrible things,” Biden reportedly went on to say. “I’m not making him more than he was. But my point is, at least you could work with some of these guys.”
2024 Biden: “I’ve served w/real racists. Strom Thurmond… Guys terrible on race”.
1981-87 Biden: Pre-eulogy or 1994, on Judiciary w/Strom, Joe co-led/co-crafted most racist draconian drug/prison laws in US History. An old🧵 w/new video of how Joe really “served with Strom” 👇 https://t.co/ERDQxXTF27 pic.twitter.com/tyDzcX5Ifx
— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) February 23, 2024
House Republicans, on the other hand, not only refuse to work with him but also stoke racial divisions because they “do not believe in basic democratic principles,” Biden claimed.
This is not the first time Biden has spoken warmly of Southern segregationists. During his 2020 campaign, he came under fire for praising segregationist senators James Eastland and Herman Talmadge for their “civility.”
He walked back the comment later, saying, “Now, was I wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed time and again?” he said. “Yes, I was. I regret it. I’m sorry for any of the pain and misconception I may have caused anybody.”
Alongside then-President Barack Obama, Biden also helped eulogize former Ku Klux Klan grand-wizard Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., at his 2010 funeral.
Nonetheless, Biden has frequently insulted Republicans, labeling them “MAGA extremists” and “semi-fascists” on multiple occasions.
“Time and again Republicans show they are the party of chaos and division,” Biden said on Thursday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., responded to Biden’s “outrageous” comment, saying, “The least popular President to seek re-election is now so desperate and so underwater in the polls he’s playing the race card from the bottom of the deck.”
