'Biden believes black people can't think for themselves': African American Republican candidate Kim Klacik slams Democrats at RNC after viral video blaming party for decay in Baltimore
A black Republican congressional candidate claimed that the Democrats take the black vote for granted and that Joe Biden believes 'we can't think for ourselves,' at the Republican National Convention last night.
Kim Klacik is running for office in Maryland's 7th Congressional district, a Democratic bulwark which was represented by the late Elijah Cummings for 23 years.
'Joe Biden believes we can't think for ourselves, that the color of someone's skin dictates their political views,' Klacik said in the segment broadcast at the RNC in Charlotte on Monday. 'We're not buying the lies anymore, you and your party have ignored us for too long.'
The black vote was crucial to Biden's victory in the Democratic primaries but several recent gaffes have been highlighted by conservatives who claim that neither Biden nor the party is truly concerned with the concerns of African-Americans.
Kim Klacik is running for office in Maryland's 7th Congressional district, a Democratic bulwark which was represented by the late Elijah Cummings for 23 years
In May, the former Vice President told rapper and radio host Charlamagne: 'If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black.'
And in an interview in late July, Biden made a clumsy contrast between the Latino and African-American communities.
Speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Biden said: 'Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things.'
He later clarified his statement, tweeting: 'In no way did I mean to suggest the African American community is a monolith — not by identity, not on issues, not at all.'
Klacik, 38, continued her address on Monday night, saying: 'And yet, the Democrats still assume that black people will vote for them, no matter how much they let us down and take us for granted.
'Nope, we're sick of it and not going to take it anymore. The days of blindly supporting the Democrats are coming to an end.'
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden adjusts his protective face mask as he speaks during a campaign event in New Castle, Delaware, U.S., July 21, 2020
Klacik's campaign was given a boost last week when President Donald Trump shared one of her advertisements titled 'Black Lives Don't Matter to Democrats.'
In the film she rips the leaders of the Democrat-run city, asking: 'Do you care about black lives? The people that run Baltimore don't. I can prove it. Walk with me.'
She proceeds to lead the viewer on a walking tour of the city's poverty-ravaged neighborhoods where there is little business, save for corner liquor stores.
Klacik, described as a rising GOP star, is running again for the Maryland 7th District seat left vacant by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings after she lost the special election in April.
Klacik previously ran for the district's seat but lost the special election in April by almost 49 points to Rep. Kweisi Mfume, 71, a former president of the NAACP
It is a deeply Democratic seat and she lost her last attempt at it by 48.7 points. She does not live in the district but promised she would move there if she won.
Trump repeatedly attacked Cummings before his death in October 2019, and called Baltimore 'rat and rodent infested' and 'very dangerous and filthy.'
The 38-year-old is married to 54-year-old strip club manager and accountant Jeffrey Klacik, and lives in Middle River, in Baltimore County. She was born and brought up in Accokeek in southern Maryland and has never lived in Baltimore itself.
Kalcik is a member of the Baltimore County Republican party and has a Facebook page for a small non-profit to 'provide disadvantaged women with the tools needed to obtain a career and gain financial independence.'
In the video, Klacik also urges black residents to throw out Rep. Kweisi Mfume, 71, a former president of the NAACP who beat her in the special election to fill Cummings' seat after his death last year.
She lost the election by almost 49 points.
'Democrats think black people are stupid. They think they can control us forever, that we won't demand better and that we'll keep voting for them forever, despite what they've done to our families and our communities,' she says.
'All black lives matter. Our communities matter. Baltimore Matters. Black people don't have to vote Democrat,' Klacik concludes.
She won the GOP primary in early June to challenge Mfume again.
She hopes to achieve an upset in November despite her loss earlier this year in the majority black district.
Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 4-1 in the district, which includes a significant portion of the city of Baltimore and parts of Baltimore and Howard counties.
The diverse district includes areas of Baltimore that struggle with poverty and violent crime, and more affluent areas and such landmarks as Johns Hopkins Hospital.
