Biden on His Somali-American ‘Friends’: ‘There’s an Awful Lot of Them Driving Cabs’

Vice President Joe Biden came under fire Tuesday afternoon for comments he made about his Somali-Americans “friends” driving taxi cabs in his home city.

During a White House summit on fighting violent extremism, Biden brought up the thriving Somali-American community in Wilmington, Del., telling the roundtable guests: “If you ever come to the train station with me, you’ll notice that I have great relationships with them because there’s an awful lot of them driving cabs and are friends of mine. For real.”

The comments came in reference to a growing East African presence in cities like Minneapolis, Minn., where the vice president says the government is working to build positive relationships with budding immigrant communities. “As the same folks, Somalis, who have made made my city of Wilmington, Delaware, [their home] on a smaller scale,” he noted. “It’s a large, very identifiable Somali community.”

Several media personalities reacted with mockery, and Business Insider noted that this isn’t the first time Biden’s found himself in hot water regarding ethnically-related comments:

“In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India,” Biden said in 2006, according to Time magazine. “You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”

Other reporters wondered about how comments like these could affect a possible presidential run:

Will this be second time a Biden presidential bid dies before it truly lived due to an odd racially charged remark? http://t.co/cCu0UXYptY

— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) February 17, 2015

Watch the video below, via CNN:

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