Recent comments made by President Joe Biden raised eyebrows after he claimed to be the “the first Black woman to serve with a Black President.”
Biden made the comment during a radio station interview on Philadelphia’s only Black-owned talk station WURD to celebrate July 4. Things got weird when interviewer Andrea Lawful-Sanders prompted Biden to talk about his achievements, which led to the odd statement.
“By the way I’m proud…as I said, the first vice president, first Black woman…to serve with a Black President,” Biden said.
He continued to touch on his achievement of appointing the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown-Jackson, and how there is more to do.
“There is so much that we can do because together there is nothing…”
Some social media users used the comment to push for Biden to get a cognitive test or step down
as the Democratic candidate for President, given his age of 81. But others read between the lines, to define what he meant to say.“It’s clear he was saying that he served with the 1st black president and 1st black vice president,” @RobWuhrman said.
“We should call bs when we see it, but each side needs to lead with integrity. Anything less diminishes the cause that either purports to aspire towards (a stronger country).”
Since the interview dropped on July 3, Lawful-Sanders has been fired from the station after WURD Radio President and CEO, Sara M. Lomax, alleged the interview was “arranged and negotiated independently … without knowledge, consultation or collaboration with WURD management.”
In a statement titled “Accountability, Access and A Path Forward: Why Black Media Matters,” Lomax said the host violated the standards of independent journalism and mutually decided to part ways, “effective immediately.”
“As Pennsylvania’s only independent Black-owned talk radio station, WURD Radio has cultivated that trust with our audience over our 20-year history,” the statement read.
“This is something we take very seriously. Agreeing to a pre-determined set of questions jeopardizes that trust and is not a practice that WURD Radio engages in or endorses as a matter of practice or official policy.”
The seasoned radio host released a video statement on Facebook thanking all of her supporters and giving insight to her tendered resignation and saying “it was accepted.”
“Life is moving, things are shifting and changing, and in a day or so, you’ll hear more,” Lawful-Sanders said.
According to Politico, the interview was coordinated by the Biden-Harris campaign and not the White House. Following his debate with GOP opponent Donald Trump, Biden participated in two pre-recorded interviews with radio stations in swing states — including WURD. He was scheduled to address his poor debate performance and topics that focus on Black voters.
As Lawful-Sanders told CNN’s Victor Blackwell, the President’s team sent questions, and she chose four of them, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said the practice isn’t uncommon.
“It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. These questions were relevant to the news of the day — the president was asked about this debate performance, as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans,” Hitt said
“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners.”
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