Joe Biden Licks His Chops: ‘I Look Forward to Debating Mike Bloomberg on His Support for African-Americans’

Former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he looks “forward to debating” former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg “on his support for African-Americans” and other issues, rather than facing a unilateral onslaught of political ads.

On Tuesday morning’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Biden sat for an extensive 20-minute interview where he was asked about a recent Quinnipiac University poll that showed Mayor Bloomberg cutting into his support nationally, particularly among black voters.

“What is your message to those voters in South Carolina when they watch Iowa and they watch New Hampshire, why should they still be with you?” co-host Willie Geist asked Biden.

“They know me,” Biden said, and added, “They know my heart, they know my head, they know what I’ve always stood up for them, and they know the courage I exhibited in defense of their concerns.”

“It’s amazing what 500 million dollars can do, in terms of being on the air, you know just between the two billionaires they’ve spent $500 million so far, Biden continued, conceding that “it’s going to be tough,” but that “black voters know who I am, they know where I come from, they know what I care about, and I think we’re going to do fine. I think we’re going to do well.”

“Is Mike Bloomberg trying to buy the presidency?” co-host Joe Scarborough asked.

“Well let me tell you this way, I guess when you have over 60 billion dollars you think you can do about anything. I’m looking forward to debating Mike Bloomberg about his support for African Americans. I’m looking forward to debating Mike Bloomberg about his 10 years as mayor. I’m looking forward to debating him because I sure can’t compete with him in terms of his money.

Bloomberg has an extensive record to draw from, but just within the past 24 hours, audio has surfaced featuring the former mayor making offensive remarks in defense of stop and frisk and other policing tactics.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.