Whoopi Goldberg defends Joe Biden, saying he is not a racist

This week, Whoopi Goldberg took Biden’s side and defended him on The View by cautioning people to be careful when trying to characterize the former vice president as a racist.

Kia Morgan-Smith

Jun 21, 2019

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Joe Biden is still taking heat for comments many thought were his attempt to normalize working with segregationists.

The 2020 Presidential contender took heat from political opponent Cory Booker who demanded he apologize for stomping for segregationist senators the late Sens. James Eastland and Herman Talmadge who Biden claimed to have worked with, despite their racist views.

However, this week, Whoopi Goldberg took Biden’s side and defended him on The View by cautioning people to be careful when trying to characterize the former vice president as a racist, Yahoo reports.

BIDEN DEFENDS WORKING WITH SEGREGATIONISTS: Former VP Joe Biden is under fire about finding consensus as he worked as a senator alongside Southern Democrats with opposing views, including those who supported segregation – the co-hosts weigh in. https://t.co/nYSOAof10m pic.twitter.com/kYi6fjNNzf

— The View (@TheView) June 20, 2019

“Don’t try to make him out to be a racist,” Goldberg said. “You don’t like some of the stuff he’s done, say that, but you can’t call the dude a racist. He sat for 8 years with a black guy.”

At issue is Biden’s comments standing up for the racist senators by arguing that there was at least “civility” when working with them.

“Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today you look at the other side and you’re the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don’t talk to each other anymore,” Biden said.

Biden then followed up saying of Eastland, “he never called me boy, he always called me son.”

Sen. Booker called for Biden to apologize.

“As a Black man in America I know the harmful and hurtful usage of the word ‘boy.’ And how it was used to dehumanize and degrade,” Booker said.

Biden pushed back on Booker’s criticism.

“There’s not a racist bone in my body,” Biden told reporters. “I’ve been involved in civil rights my whole career.”

Guest co-host Ana Navarro called Booker out for what she believed to be an attention-seeking attempt.

“I think Cory Booker is taking advantage of the situation to try to get some attention,” Navarro said. “Joe Biden is not a racist. It’s why he’s got good, very strong support from the African-American community,” Navarro continued.

It remains to be seen if Biden will apologize or risk distancing himself from his African American base.