Biden Faces Renewed Ridicule After Comparing MLK's Assassination To George Floyd's Death

As the nation pauses to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a video of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden saying George Floyd's death had a greater global impact than the assassination of Dr. King is recirculating and drawing criticism.

Biden made the comments in June of 2020 during an economic reopening roundtable in Philadelphia, weeks after Floyd's death. During the discussion, Biden was explaining how smartphones have mobilized people all over the world to participate in the movement against police brutality.

"Even Dr. King's assassination did not have the worldwide impact that George Floyd's death did," Biden said during the discussion. "It's just like television changed the Civil Rights movement for the better when they saw Bull Connor and his dogs ripping the clothes off of elderly black women going to church and firehoses ripping the skin off of young kids."

"What happened to George Floyd — now you got how many people around the country, millions of cell phones," he added. "It's changed the way everybody's looking at this. Look at the millions of people marching around the world."

The video was reposted on various social media platforms Monday, many again criticizing Biden's comments. Some called the remarks "disgusting," others expressed shock over the comparison.

After Biden made the comments in 2020, Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, also criticized the then-presumptive Democratic nominee.

"I believe that Mr. Biden continues to speak from his basement, from a reality that is different from what's happening in the real world," King told the Daily Caller News Foundation in June of 2020. "Why is it necessary to compare Martin Luther King Jr. and George Floyd?"

Monday, Biden posted a video pushing for voting rights, saying Americans must commit to Dr. King's "unfinished work – of delivering jobs and justice, and protecting the sacred right to vote."

"Living up to his legacy, and what Dr. King believed our nation could become requires more than just reflection — it requires action," Biden tweeted. "That is why the Congress must pass Federal legislation to protect the right to vote."