Biden’s impromptu moves backfire

The thing about impromptu moments in politics is that often they work, sometimes they fall flat, but occasionally they turn out downright awkward. Vice president Joe Biden learned that the hard way — twice.

Hosting a White House summit on extremism, Biden sought to draw a parallel between Minneapolis, where local leaders are working to prevent radicalisation of Somali youth, and his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, which Biden said also has a “large, very identifiable Somali community”.

“I might add, if you ever come to the train station you may notice that I have great relations with them, because an awful lot of them are driving cabs, and are friends of mine,” Biden said.