Joe Biden echoed phrases known to be used by Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong at a digital fundraiser with former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, according to Fox News.
“We’ve got to get real economic relief into women’s hands now,” Biden said during a Q&A session on economic relief for women, adding that “women hold up half the sky.”
While The Atlantic tried to interpret the phrase “women hold up half the sky” as an old Chinese Proverb, it turns out the saying was famously proclaimed by Zedong when he was advocating for gender equality almost 70 years ago.
“For the first time, an economic crisis is hitting industries dominated by women,” the former vice president said, reportedly discussing how the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected women.
During his rule over China, Mao Zedong was responsible for the communist revolution that killed approximately 45 million people.
The U.S.-Chinese relationship has become a focus of the 2020 presidential election in the wake of COVID-19 and more recently, the alleged data-mining occurring via popular social media app TikTok.