Biden tells CNN town hall that he has benefited from white privilege

Democratic nominee Joe Biden acknowledged the existence of white privilege in his own life Thursday, saying his privileged experiences as a white man have benefited him. 

“Sure, I’ve benefited just because I don’t have to go through what my Black brothers and sisters have had to go through,” Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in a televised town hall event.

But Biden also said that he had faced unfair treatment of his own, mentioning how some people had looked down on his working-class upbringing in Scranton, Pa., and the fact that he does not hold a degree from an Ivy League university. 

“We’re used to guys who look down their nose on us. We’re used to people who look to us and think that we’re suckers,” he said, before mentioning that he had faced criticism for his educational background. 

“Who the hell makes you think I need an Ivy League degree to be president?” he said.

The former vice president’s comments came after journalist Bob Woodward released a recording of an interview with President Trump, in which the former real estate mogul dismissed a question about white privilege, saying the veteran reporter had “drank the Kool-Aid.”

Biden’s comments also come amid a national reckoning on racial inequality and police brutality that began over the summer with protests over the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement officers.