Mike Bloomberg’s past comments about race have once again stirred controversy after a newly unearthed interview from 2011 showed the presidential hopeful saying black and Latino males “don’t know how to behave in the workplace”.

Mr Bloomberg was serving his third term as New York City mayor when he made the comments in an interview with PBS NewsHour. The interview was about a new $127m initiative meant to empower black and Latino men, which Mr Bloomberg was spearheading at the time.

“There's this enormous cohort of black and Latino males, age, let's say, 16 to 25, that don't have jobs, don't have any prospects, don't know how to find jobs”, the former mayor said.

He went on to suggest the “cohort” of black and Latino males he was referring to “don't know what their skill sets are, [and] don't know how to behave in the workplace where they have to work collaboratively and collectively.”

The former mayor also touted New York City’s historically low crime rates under his tenure in the interview, describing it as “particularly important to black and Latino kids, and their families and their neighbourhoods, because that’s where the crime is”.

Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Show all 18 1 /18 Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses AFP via Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas EPA Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters' minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A Trump supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February Reuters

The comments quickly went viral online after the interview was resurfaced earlier this week. Donald Trump’s supporters quickly jumped on the video, including the president’s eldest son, who wrote in a tweet: “Bloomberg is everything the media claims Trump is, and they won’t do anything about it. What a disgrace.”

The newly revisited interview also showed Mr Bloomberg saying: “If you look at where crime takes place, it's in minority neighborhoods. If you look at who the victims and the perpetrators are, it's virtually all minorities.”

He added: “This is something that has gone on for a long time, I assume it’s prevalent elsewhere, but it’s certainly true in New York City, and for many, many years people said there was just nothing you could do about it.”

Mr Bloomberg, one of the last Democratic candidates to launch a presidential bid during the 2020 election, has garnered significant support in recent weeks among black and brown voters. He appeared to have taken support from former Vice President Joe Biden, who analysts said previously maintained a stronghold of diverse supporters in states like South Carolina.

But with his rise in the polls have come questions about his support for a controversial “stop-and-frisk” programme the New York City police department implemented under his tenure, which targeted minority communities and was later ruled unconstitutional.

A previous recording of the former mayor speaking at the Aspen Institute in 2015 also caused trouble for his presidential campaign after it showed Mr Bloomberg seemingly defending the programme and explaining why he wanted to “put all the cops in minority neighbourhoods”.

“Ninety-five percent of murders- murderers and murder victims fit one M.O.,” he said. “You can just take a description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops. They are male, minorities, 16-25. That's true in New York, that's true in virtually every city.

Mr Bloomberg has since apologised for supporting the controversial policy.

The former mayor also launched a new initiative under his campaign titled “Mike for Black America”, telling a crowd of supporters: “We're going to triple the wealth of black families to substantially close the racial wealth gap.”