Fact-check: Did Joe Biden Say 'Some Black Woman' Stocking Shelves Was Why He Could Stay In Amid COVID?
A video of former Vice President Joe Biden talking about a Black woman stacking shelves went viral on Monday as the Democratic candidate's critics accused him of racism on social media.
The claim
The video gained traction after it was shared by Rob Smith, a Senior Contributor at conservative group Turning Points USA. The 10 second clip shows Biden saying, "They're saying, 'Jeez, the reason I was able to stay sequestered in my home is because some Black woman was able to stack the grocery shelf'."
The Twitter account that originally tweeted the video was suspended but it had been viewed more than 2 million times by then, according to Smith. The video was originally shared on September 29.
The facts
The comments were part of a longer statement Biden made during a roundtable event with veterans in Tampa, Florida on September 15.
Biden was discussing the COVID-19 pandemic and the role minorities have played in providing essential services since the virus hit.
"I am, ironically, more optimistic about the prospects of dealing with the problems we talked about today, as well as so many other problems we have right now than I've ever been in my whole career," Biden said.
"And they say, 'Well, why in the hell would you say that Biden? You just talked about all these difficulties.' Well, I'll tell you why. Because the American public, the blinders have been taken off. They've all of a sudden seen a hell of a lot clearer.
"They're saying, 'Jeez, the reason I was able to stay sequestered in my home is because some Black woman was able to stack the grocery shelf. Or I got a young Hispanic out there, these DREAMers are out there, 60,000 of them acting as first responders and nurses and docs'," he said.
"Or all of a sudden people are realizing, 'My Lord, these people have done so much. Not just Black, white, across the board, have done so much for me. We can do this. We can get things done.' And I think they're ready."
"And the irony of all ironies is that I think it's the vehicle by which we're going to be able to create really good paying jobs," Biden went on. "We're going to be able to provide for significant healthcare. The idea that in the middle of a pandemic, the worst thing since the great flu back in the turn of the century, where so many people died worldwide, is that people are figuring out that we're all in this together.
"We can get through this if we just level with one another. Just tell the truth, let people know," he said.
Rating: Mostly true
It is true that Joe Biden said that quote, but the viral clip of the full speech removes important context and falsely implies the former vice president made racially insensitive remarks.
