As the fallout from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s “you ain’t black” remarks continues, some public figures have come forward to defend him.
On Friday, Biden had an interview “The Breakfast Club” radio show host Charlamagne Tha God. Toward the end of the interview, which was tense at times, Charlagmagene mentioned that some voters were disappointed about reports that Biden may be choosing Amy Klobuchar as his vice president.
“A lot of people on social media, they’re not too happy about that and it’s because they want your running mate to be a black woman.”
Biden said that he was “not acknowledging anyone who is being considered.”
RELATED: Biden apologizes for comments about African American voters
Biden’s publicist attempted to wrap up the interview, and Charlagmagene invited Biden to come speak with on the show again before the November elections.
Just as the interview ended, the former vice president said, “If you have a problem figuring out if you’re for me or for Trump, then you ain’t black.”
“It don’t have nothing to do with Trump,” Charlamagne said. “It has to do with the fact -- I want something for my community.”
“Take a look at my record,” Biden said. “I extended the Voting Rights Act 25 years. I have a record that is second to none. The NAACP has endorsed me every time I've run. I mean, come on, take a look at the record.”
Biden has since clarified the comment, although he has not outright apologized.
“I should not have been so cavalier. I’ve never, never, ever taken the African American community for granted,” Biden said during a call with members of U.S. Black Chambers later Friday.
Biden’s appearance on The Breakfast Club was part of his effort to appeal to and reach black voters.
On Fox News, House Judiciary Committee member Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said Biden’s comments were made in jest.
"I think the right thing to do was to own up that it might not have been as funny as we might have thought originally ... because it was done in jest," Jackson Lee said. "To be able to match his record up against his opponent any day, I believe he will come out with 100 percent (of the vote). The vice president knows he can't take any community for granted and particularly the African-American community."
Biden’s senior adviser, Symone D. Sanders, also said Biden was joking when he made the remark.
“The comments made at the end of the Breakfast Club interview were in jest, but let’s be clear about what the VP was saying: he was making the distinction that he would put his record with the African American community up against Trump’s any day,” she wrote on Twitter.
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