Taking several turns and going down multiple tangents, Joe Biden could not seem to answer a simple question about the legacy of slavery during the third Democratic debates.

The former vice president mentioned record players, discussed education and talked about bringing social workers into homes in low-income communities when debate moderator Linsey Davis asked him: “What responsibility do you think that Americans need to take to repair the legacy of slavery in our country?”

Mr Biden began by addressing “institutional segregation” and discussing his track record, as well as the need for social reforms, before making several controversial statements that sparked outcry online shortly after the debates on Thursday night.

“Look, there’s institutional segregation in this country,” he said. “And from the time I got involved, I started dealing with that. Redlining, making sure that we are in a position where – look, talk about education. I proposed that what we take is those very poor schools, the Title I schools, triple the amount of money we spend.”

“The teachers … have every problem coming to them,” Mr Biden continued. “We have to make sure that every single child does, in fact, have three, four, and five-year-olds go to school – school, not daycare, school. We bring social workers into homes and parents to help them deal with how to raise their children. It’s not that they don’t want to help. They don’t know quite what to do. Play the radio. Make sure the television – excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night.”

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

“Make sure the kids hear words. A kid coming from a very school – a very poor background – will hear four million fewer words by the time they get there,” he concluded.

Those statements appeared to imply “that black parents don’t know how to raise their own children,” according to some, including Anand Giridharadas, an editor-at-large for TIME Magazine.

“Joe Biden’s answer on how to address the legacy of slavery was appalling – and disqualifying,” he wrote in a tweet.

In a follow-up tweet, Mr Giridharadas added: "Asked about his past comments denying responsibility, as a white man, for America's sins, he gives an answer insinuating that black parents don't know how to raise kids.”

Others said Mr Biden was employing “a racist stereotype” when answering the question.

“So many problems with this,” Ashley Nicole Black, a comedian and cast member of HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, wrote on Twitter.

“He repeated a racist stereotype (using a debunked study). He still has a record player ... But the pettiest problem ... Does Joe Biden think black parents don't play their kids music?? Has he MET black people?”

Mr Biden continued on with his comments, despite going past the speaking time he was allotted, moving on to discuss foreign policy and the crisis in Venezuela.

“Here's the deal. The deal is we've got this a little backwards and by the way, in Venezuela ... we should be allowing people to come here from Venezuela," he continued, before incorrectly referring to the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, as ‘Madura’.

“I know Madura,” he said. “I confronted Madura. Number two, you talk about the need to do something in Latin America. I'm the guy that came up with $740m (£595.4m) to see to it those three countries in fact change their system so people don't have a chance to leave. You're all acting like we just discovered this yesterday."

The former vice president took centre-stage at the third debate, in which the top 10 leading Democrats appeared together to discuss a wide range of issues during the three-hour special. He was credited with defending his healthcare plan despite Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – who flanked either side of Mr Biden on stage – presenting their sweeping Medicare-for-All initiatives and vowing universal coverage.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Mr Biden holds a steady frontrunner status over the nine other candidates in national polling. It remains unclear how his controversial statements or debate performance may impact the rest of the race before the Democratic primaries kick off in February.