Do Joe Biden’s “you ain’t black” comments ultimately matter?

Former Vice President Joe Biden is no stranger to the political gaffe. And on Friday, he stepped in it once again.

After putting it off for months, Biden finally sat down for an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” a radio show that’s earned a place in the black cultural canon for its buzzy, confrontational interviews of entertainers and political leaders. While the 18-minute interview with host Charlamagne Tha God was tense overall, it wasn’t until its final moments that Biden uttered the sentence that would set social media aflame: “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”

The backlash was swift, with critics claiming that Biden overstepped, a sign that he’s taking the black vote for granted. Others came to the presumptive Democratic nominee’s defense, arguing that the offhand comment was “in jest.” Biden himself later went on to express regret: “I was much too cavalier. […] I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy,” he said during a virtual meeting with an organization that advocates for black economic empowerment.

Biden’s latest comments add to his portfolio of blunders and off-the-cuff remarks that have led people to question his commitment to the black community. Last year, when he invoked tender memories of working with segregationist senators to make a moot point about civility, leaders like Sen. Cory Booker criticized Biden and urged him to apologize. It also took Biden nearly 30 years to acknowledge his failings in the handling of Anita Hill’s testimony.

At the core of Biden’s latest comments are questions concerning the black community’s solidarity politics: Why do black people vote Democrat if the party, and its presumptive nominee, seem to take the black vote for granted? And will comments like these ultimately matter to black people come November?