Biden Vows to Address ‘Institutional Racism' in First 100 Days as President
Former Vice President Joe Biden says he would set up a police oversight body in his first 100 days in office
By Alexandra Jaffe and Will Weissert ••
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden bows his head in prayer during a visit to Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Del., Monday, June 1, 2020.
Joe Biden vowed to address “institutional racism” in his first 100 days in office as he met with community leaders at a predominantly African American church in Delaware Monday morning, leaving home for a second consecutive day to address exploding racial tensions that have begun to reshape the upcoming presidential election.
Biden, the former vice president who will represent Democrats on the ballot against President Donald Trump this fall, has struggled in recent weeks to be heard from his basement television studio over the noise of dueling national crises. But after another night of violent protests, the 77-year-old Democrat gathered with roughly a dozen local black leaders during an intimate meeting in his hometown ahead of a virtual meeting with mayors from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Hate just hides. It doesn’t go away, and when you have somebody in power who breathes oxygen into the hate under the rocks, it comes out from under the rocks,” Biden said, his face mask lowered around his chin, after several participants shared their thoughts on police brutality.
If elected, he promised to “deal with institutional racism” and set up a police oversight body in his first 100 days in office.
Biden's low-key, high-touch approach marked a sharp contrast to that of President Donald Trump, who has made little effort to unify the country. The Republican president slammed governors as “weak” during a video teleconference Monday and demanded tougher crackdowns on protesters. Trump also lashed out at Biden on Twitter, writing that “Sleepy Joe Biden’s people are so Radical Left that they are working to get the Anarchists out of jail, and probably more.”
Biden's softer approach may foreshadow how he presents himself in the five months before the presidential election, emphasizing calm and competence as a contrast to a mercurial president. It is an approach that carries the risk of being drowned out by Trump's much louder voice.
“He’s not in office, and he certainly does not have the megaphone like the person currently occupying the White House does, but I do think our people are looking for someone who can make them feel better during these extremely tough times,” said Rep. Val Demings of Florida, whom Biden is considering as a running mate. “America just needs to be reassured that there’s someone who’s understanding, someone who’s willing to say, ‘Yes, we do have some issues,’ and someone who’s willing to address it.”
Reassurance requires presence, and that has been a hurdle for the former vice president, driven inside by the coronavirus pandemic, still working to adapt to the power of social media as a substitute and without the natural platform of a public office.
Monday marked just his third public appearance since the pandemic exploded in mid-March.
Biden and his wife, Jill, marked Memorial Day by laying a wreath at a veterans' memorial near his Wilmington home last week, and the former vice president’s campaign posted pictures of him visiting a protest site in the city on Sunday afternoon. Earlier, he wrote a post on Medium expressing empathy for those despairing about the police killing of George Floyd.
In the early moments of Monday’s gathering at the Bethel AME church in Wilmington, Biden listened quietly and took notes in a spiral notebook. All the attendees, including Biden, wore face masks but lowered them as they spoke.
“The vice president came to hear from us. This is a homeboy,” pastor Sylvester Beaman said before everyone bowed their heads in prayer.
Biden's standing with the black community weighs heavily as he works to deny Trump a second term. African Americans rescued Biden's flailing primary campaign earlier in the spring, but it's unclear if they will turn out for him in large numbers in November.
“I want to make something clear. I don’t expect anything from the black community," he said Monday, insisting he has never taken their support for granted. The former vice president has been doing cleanup since telling a prominent black radio host a week and a half ago that African Americans who back President Donald Trump “ain’t black.”
The morning gathering featured 15 religious, political and educational leaders, including Democratic Rep. Blunt Rochester. Pasted notices on the main entrance cautioned people from entering if they had a cough or other symptoms that could indicate they were suffering from coronavirus.
For his part, Trump has refused to wear a mask and has largely ignored social distancing guidelines issued by his administration's medical professionals.
Much of Biden's campaign strategy centers on trying to draw a contrast with Trump on temperament and values. He has called the White House contest a battle for the soul of the nation and has been particularly forceful in condemning Trump's handling of moments of racial tension.
Democrats note that Biden spoke about Floyd's death before Trump addressed it and has shown compassion for the protesters. Trump has alternated between expressing alarm over Floyd's death and sympathy for his family and issuing tweets antagonizing protesters and disparaging his political enemies.
In an election that is likely to be a referendum on the sitting president, some Biden aides say privately that the best plan may be to let Trump do himself in.
Yet there is also a recognition that Biden needs to do more than simply wait for voters who may be turned off by Trump to turn toward him. Some Democrats who have criticized Biden for not being more visible during the onset of the coronavirus said he is making the right moves now.
“I’m sure they have some reluctance, understandably, right now to politicize it. That's not who he is," said Democratic strategist James Carville. “There might be a time for eloquence, but I think that simplicity is eloquence right now.”
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Demonstrators protest at the makeshift memorial in honor of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality sparked more clashes between police, protestors and looters.
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Demonstrators protest at the makeshift memorial in honor of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality sparked more clashes between police, protestors and looters.
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Protesters demonstrate on June 2, 2020, during a “Black Lives Matter” protest in New York City. Anti-racism protests have put several U.S. cities under early evening curfew to suppress rioting, following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
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People kneel in front of a line of California Highway Patrol officers in Redwood City, California, June 2, 2020, at a protest over the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 in Minneapolis after being restrained by police.
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A protesters takes a moment during a speech to the crowd as they march through Hollywood during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd while in police custody, in Los Angeles, June 2, 2020. Anti-racism protests have put several US cities under curfew to suppress protests and rioting, following the death of George Floyd in police custody.
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Demonstrators put their hands behind their heads before being taken into custody after the city’s curfew went into effect, June 2, 2020, in Los Angeles.
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Demonstrators protest at the makeshift memorial in honor of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality sparked more clashes between police, protestors and looters.
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Protesters take over I-10’s elevated portion during a march in New Orleans, June 2, 2020, protesting the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.
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Protesters raise clenched fists during a Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park on June 3, 2020, in London, United Kingdom. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world.
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Protesters march past a statue of President John F. Kennedy in Brooklyn, New York on June 6, 2020
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A marcher at a protest in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6, 2020
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Protesters' signs at a march on June 6, 2020, in Brooklyn, New York.
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Protesters at a march in Brooklyn, New York, on June 6, 2020
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Protesters march through Brooklyn on June 6, 2020
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Protestors kneel in front of the police during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd and pattern of police brutality against black Americans in Hollywood, June 2, 2020.
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Los Angeles police officers kneel during a rally led by Baptist Ministers to City Hall on June 2, 2020 in memory of George Floyd.
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Police arrest protesters defying an imposed curfew during a march to protest police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death, June 2, 2020, in New York. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.
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Demonstrators kneel in Redwood City, California, June 2, 2020, at a protest over the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after being restrained by police.
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Hundreds of demonstrators march toward Lafayette Park and the White House to protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020, in Washington, DC.
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Demonstrators engage in a peaceful protest outside of the state capitol building as unrest continues around the country following the death of George Floyd on June 2, 2020, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Protesters demonstrate on June 2, 2020, during a “Black Lives Matter” protest in New York City. Anti-racism protests have put several US cities under curfew to suppress rioting, following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
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A shop owner looks over damage in a looted souvenir and electronics shop near Times Square after a night of protests and vandalism over the death of George Floyd early June 2, 2020, in New York City.
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Less-than-lethal rifle rounds are fired near protesters and motorists surrounded by police as large numbers of people are arrested after a curfew went into effect on June 2, 2020, in Los Angeles. The vast majority of protestors demonstrated peacefully.
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Protesters gather, while observing social distancing, during a demonstration on the Malieveld in The Hague on June 2, 2020, after the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in the U.S.
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The Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) march to condemn the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, June 1, 2020 in Kolkata, India.
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Posters drawn in protest of George Floyd’s death is posted outside the U.S. Consulate General office in Edinburgh.
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Thousand gather in Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 1, 2020, to protest against police brutality against black people in America and around the world.
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Australian protesters rally in Martin Place during a ”Black Lives Matter” demonstration, held in solidarity with protests over the death of George Floyd, in Sydney, Australia, June 2, 2020. The event was organized to rally against aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia as well as in solidarity with protests across the United States following Floyd’s death.
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Youth members of the Greek communist party protest in front of the U. S. Embassy in Athens over the death of George Floyd.
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Young Turkish leftist demonstrators clash with police at Kadikoy in Istanbul on June 2, 2020, as leftist groups gather in support of US protesters over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes, and against police violence in Turkey.
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A man walks past the burned remains of a car that was towed away, after the unrest from the past few nights, in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2020.
Protesters gather, while observing social distancing, during a demonstration on the Malieveld in The Hague on June 2, 2020, after the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in the U.S.
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People take part in a demonstration at Belfast City Hall on June 1, 2020, in Belfast, United Kingdom. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers players take the knee in memory of George Floyd in a training session at Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground on June 2, 2020 in Wolverhampton, England.
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Protesters gather at Barclays Center in Brooklyn during a protest against the death of George Floyd on June 1, 2020, in New York. The protests spread across the country in at least 30 cities across the United States, as well as Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and India.
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Protesters stand on the street during the phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge in Times Square on June 1, 2020, in New York. The protests spread across the country in at least 30 cities across the United States, over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, which was the latest police involved death of a black American.
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Workers clean up after a protest on June 2, 2020, in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. Protests spread across the country in at least 30 cities across the United States, over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer – the latest death in a series of police involved deaths of a black American.
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Protestors in New York kneeled to demand justice for George Floyd in the streets during a protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after he was pinned down by a white police officer, June 1, 2020.
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Police detain and arrest a man during a protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after being pinned down by a white police officer in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2020. Protests and riots continue in cities across US following the death of George Floyd for the seventh night in a row.
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In this Saturday, May 30, 2020, photo, Camden County Metro Police Chief Joe Wysocki raises a fist while marching with Camden residents and activists in Camden, N.J., to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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People gather at site where George Floyd died May 25 while in police custody, on June 1, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. George’s brother Terrence Floyd visited the site today and called for justice and the prosecution of all four officers involved in the incident.
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Demonstrators confront law enforcement during a protest on June 1, 2020, in downtown Washington, DC.
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Demonstrators rally in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2020, protesting the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.
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A woman carries a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign past U.S. National Guard troops in the Fairfax District, an area damaged during yesterday’s unrest, after the troops were activated by California Governor Gavin Newsom following violent demonstrations in response to George Floyd’s death on May 31, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.
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Protesters holding a Black Lives Matter banner shout at law enforcement officers on May 30, 2020, in Seattle, Washington. A peaceful rally was held earlier in the day expressing outrage over the death of George Floyd who died while in the custody of police in Minneapolis. Police deployed flash bangs and tear gas to break up the crowd who were breaking windows and looting stores.
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A man waves a Black Lives Matter flag atop the CNN logo during a protest in response to the police killing of George Floyd outside the CNN Center on May 29, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Thousands of people attend a rally next to the Colorado State Capitol to protest the death of George Floyd on May 30, 2020, in Denver, Colorado. The city of Denver has enacted a curfew starting Saturday night and Governor Jared Polis has called in the Colorado National Guard after two nights of protests wreaked havoc across the city.
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Protesters kneel behind a gate during a demonstration outside the White House in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2020, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
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Protesters raise a fist in front of the burning Minneapolis 3rd police precinct on Thursday, May 28, 2020, during the third day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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Protesters set a shop on fire on Thursday, May 28, 2020, during the third day of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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Former Minnesota Gopher and NFL player Tyrone Carter pleaded with protesters not to tear up their city as he hugged Tony L Clark at the site where George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police.
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Tony L Clark, left, consoles Gwen Dumas at the site where George Floyd was killed in front of the Cup Food Store. Protesters gathered at 38th and Chicago where George Floyd was killed for the third night of protests on May 28, 2020.
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Hundreds of protesters marched in downtown Minneapolis, May 28, 2020, to support CAIR-Minnesota’s call for the arrest of the police who killed George Floyd.
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Protesters throw objects into a fire outside a Target store near the Third Police Precinct on May 28, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd. A police precinct in Minnesota went up in flames late on May 28 in a third day of demonstrations as the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seethed over the shocking police killing of Floyd.
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AP writer Steve Peoples in Montclair, N.J. contributed.
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