Joe Biden says Trump is ‘first racist president’ of US – despite slave-owning predecessors

Democrat’s comments came during discussion of president’s use of ‘China virus’ phrasing

Joe Biden called Donald Trump the “first” racist elected as United States president, despite several owning slaves.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s comments on Wednesday came during an online campaign event organised by the Service Employees International Union, when one participant complained about Mr Trump’s alleged racism over Covid-19.

Mr Biden then blasted Mr Trump over “his spread of racism,” citing his use of phrases such as “the China virus” to decribe coronavirus.

“The way he deals with people based on the colour of their skin, their national origin, where they’re from, is absolutely sickening,” said Mr Biden. “No sitting president has ever done this.”

“Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president,” he continued. “We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed. They’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”

Mr Biden’s comments came despite previous slave-owning presidents such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, whose records have come under scrutiny amid nationwide demonstrations against systemic racism across the US.

At the same time, Woodrow Wilson, who was pro-segregation, will soon have his name removed from Princeton University’s public policy school after recent anti-racism protests.

Mr Trump said later on Wednesday that he had “done more for Black Americans than anybody with the possible of exception of Abraham Lincoln”.

“Nobody has even been close,” he added, citing his administration’s criminal justice reforms and opportunity zone expansion, as well as the low unemployment numbers for minority groups before the coronavirus outbreak.

Senior Trump campaign advisor Katrina Pierson said in a statement that “no one should take lectures on racial justice from Joe Biden.”

The Democrat, who said earlier this week that four black women were under consideration as his choices for vice presidential candidate, promises to address systemic racism once elected.

He previously criticised Mr Trump when the president said last year that four Democratic congresswomen of colour should “go back” to their countries.

Mr Biden called it a “flat, racist attack.”