Former vice president Joe Biden is leading the 2020 field of presidential candidates among support from black voters, and he’s seemingly doing his best to drive a wedge between them and his campaign.

At a MSNBC public education forum on Saturday, Biden promised to abolish charter schools and other education options promoted by President Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. DeVos has championed school choice for decades to empower parents to find the best education for their child.

“The point is, if I’m president, Betsy DeVos’ whole notion from charter schools to this is gone,” Biden said, referring to reforms implemented by the Trump administration to expand school choice.

Biden told folks at the Public Education Forum 2020: Equity and Opportunity for All in Pittsburgh he plans to raise taxes to pump more money into the failing public education system, rather than invest in alternatives.

His comments come just a week after a nationwide survey released by Real Clear Opinion Research that shows a whopping 68% of registered voters support school choice, particularly black and minority families that benefit the most.

“Once again, a new round of nationwide public polling in 2019 confirms that school choice is incredibly popular with voters in every category, especially a federal tax credit proposal like the Education Freedom Scholarships,” said John Schilling, president of American Federation of Children.

Overall, 68 percent of respondents supported school choice, with strong support across all age groups. Blacks were most supportive with 71 percent in favor, followed by Hispanics with 69 percent support and whites with 68 percent.

The popularity of school choice – giving “parents the right to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school which best serves their needs” – also transcends political parties.

Republicans surveyed by RealClear Opinion Research registered the highest support for school choice at 76 percent, but 64 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of independents also expressed support.

The pollster asked respondents where they would prefer to send their children for school, and only 30 percent preferred public schools. The rest chose something else: 21.5 percent said non-religious private schools, 18.5 percent said private religious schools, 13.2 percent chose public charter schools, 10.5 percent want to homeschool, and 6 percent chose virtual schooling, The American Mirror reports.

Regardless, Biden seems to think his support among black voters is a lock, because the polling tells him so.

“I’m extremely proud of my record on civil rights,” Biden said, alleging issues with segregation should be addressed to improve public education. “That’s why I have more people in the African American community supporting me than anybody else. That’s why the president picked me. I make no apologies for my record on civil rights. It’s as good or better than anyone in politics.”

Biden faced criticism during the Democratic debates over his support for segregated busing and friendly relationships with segregationist lawmakers during his decades in the Senate.

He’s repeatedly pushed back against that criticism by touting his relationship with Barack Obama, who has not endorsed Biden’s 2020 bid.