Joe Biden has made a lot of questionable racial comments over his time in public life.

“Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” “First mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” If you don’t know that you’re voting for him then “you ain’t black.”

But last night at the CNN town hall he made another questionable comment that some suggested was hitting another racist trope about minorities not knowing how to use the internet. Biden was talking about people getting online to register for the vaccine. But he suggested that “Hispanic and African American” people would have trouble understanding how to get online to do that.

"Minorities… don't know how to use, know how to get online."@JoeBiden is perpetuating a racist trope that minorities don't know how to use the internet.#BidenTownhall pic.twitter.com/hsVuC02PdC

— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) February 17, 2021

From CNN:

The other thing we found is — I’m sorry to go on, but this is really important to me — the other part — portion is a lot of people don’t know how to register. Not everybody in the community, in the Hispanic and the African-American community, particularly in rural areas that are distant and/or inner city districts know how to use — know how to get online to determine how to get in line for that COVID vaccination at the Walgreen’s or at the particular store.

He doesn’t say “people” have difficulty figuring out how to get online to register, or rural communities, or the “elderly,” he goes out of his way to say “Hispanic and African-American.”

This is a bit like the troubling comment from last year during the debates when he asked a question about black people and slavery. He responds with a confused jumble of words. But he also says some troubling things that seem to indicate he doesn’t think black parents can instruct their own children. Plus, who has record players anymore?

First Biden scoffs at being asked a question about race and then proceeds to out himself as a racist who wants to teach black parents how to parent. #POSPOTUS pic.twitter.com/GJf431ZEMr

— Michael David 🏴‍☠️ (@michael_david41) February 2, 2021

From Independent:

“The teachers … have every problem coming to them,” Mr Biden continued. “We have to make sure that every single child does, in fact, have three, four, and five-year-olds go to school – school, not daycare, school. We bring social workers into homes and parents to help them deal with how to raise their children. It’s not that they don’t want to help. They don’t know quite what to do. [emphasis added] Play the radio. Make sure the television – excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night.”

“Make sure the kids hear words. A kid coming from a very school – a very poor background – will hear four million fewer words by the time they get there,” he concluded.

It’s the bigotry of low expectations. But he wants to help to bring minorities along, in a white paternalistic grandpa sort of a way. Pro tip? That thought is racist too.

It probably explains why Barack Obama never invited him into the White House residence in all the eight years Obama was in office, another tidbit dropped at the town hall last night. Some BFF.