Biden claims he tried to reform 1994 crime bill, but was blocked by "Republican Congress"
Trump cleaned Biden’s clock on race | Washington Post - Marc A. Thiessen:
Oct. 23, 2020 - "At first glance, the final presidential debate might have seemed to some like a draw.... But a closer look shows that Trump was the big winner, because he was the only candidate who landed blows that damaged his opponent with a constituency Biden desperately needs to win the presidency — African American voters. On Thursday night, Trump cleaned Biden’s clock on race....
"Moderator Kristen Welker asked both candidates whether they understood the fears of Black and brown families who worry their children 'could be targeted, including by the police, for no reason other than the color of their skin.' When it was Trump’s turn to answer, he said 'Yes, I do' and laid out his record, including opportunity zones to bring investment into struggling Black communities, substantial funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, prison reform and criminal justice reform. By contrast, he said, Biden has 'been in government for 47 years. He never did a thing except in 1994 when he did such harm to the Black community' with his crime bill.
"Biden responded by trying to take credit for Trump’s success on criminal justice reform, saying 'The very law he’s talking about is the law that, in fact, initiated by Barack Obama.' But Trump kept pressing him on why he and Obama didn’t pass it? 'You were vice president,' Trump said. 'You keep talking about all these things you’re going to do … but you were there just a short time ago and you guys did nothing.'
"Biden tried to change the subject with a snide remark, noting 'Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we’ve had in modern history. He pours fuel on every single racist fire, every single one.' Trump replied calmly, 'I didn’t say I’m Abraham Lincoln. I said, not since Abraham Lincoln has anybody done what I’ve done for the black community. Now you have done nothing other than the crime bill, which put tens of thousands of black men mostly in jail. And you know what? They remember it. … they remember that you treated them very, very badly.'
"Rather than let Biden off the hook, Welker pressed him to answer Trump’s question: 'Vice President Biden, let me give you a chance to respond within this context. Crime bills that you supported in the ’80s and ’90 contributed to the incarceration of tens of thousands of young black men who had small amounts of drugs in their possession. They are sons, they are brothers, they’re fathers, they’re uncles whose families are still, to this day, some of them suffering the consequences. So, speak to those families, why should they vote for you?'
"Biden conceded, 'It was a mistake. I’ve been trying to change it since then.' Trump jumped on that, saying that trying was not good enough. 'But why didn’t he get it done? See, it’s all talk, no action with these politicians. Why didn’t he get it done?' When Biden tried to deflect by pointing out that he and Obama released 38,000 federal prisoners and granted clemency to over 1,000, Trump kept pressing. 'Why didn’t you do it in the eight years, a short time ago? … You put tens of thousands of mostly Black young men in prison …. Why didn’t you get it done? You had eight years with Obama. You know why, Joe? Because you’re all talk and no action.'
"Finally, Biden delivered a feeble answer: 'Because we had a Republican Congress. That’s the answer.' Sorry, but when he and Obama took office in 2009, Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, and they had a 60-vote filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate for parts of 2009 and 2010. Republicans didn’t win back the House until 2010 and didn’t retake the Senate until 2014. Obama and Biden could have passed anything."
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/23/trump-cleaned-bidens-clock-race/
