U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell became a trending topic for all the wrong reasons after implying that African Americans are not Americans, the Guardian reports.
Before the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to the Senate floor failed to pass on Wednesday, McConnell was asked by reporters about concerns about African American voting
"Well the concern is misplaced because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans," McConnell said.
The clip immediately went viral and has been viewed over 1 million times.
Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts on McConnell’s statements about African Americans.
“Mitch McConnell’s comments suggesting African Americans aren’t fully American wasn’t a Freudian slip—it was a dog whistle,” Rep.Malcolm Kenyatta’s tweet read.” The same one he has blown for years.”
Joy Reid, the host of MSNBC’s The Reid Out, slammed McConnell for his comments in a tweet.
“This person, @LeaderMcConnell, might be the single most openly hypocritical and downright wicked men to ever serve in the United States Senate,” Reid wrote. “May he remain in the Senate minority for the remainder of his miserable political career.”
"He moans about Biden’s words being divisive while continuing to excuse the most vile president in U.S. history declaring fellow Americans to be enemies of the people and fomenting a literal insurrection," she added. "Perhaps Mitch hopes to benefit from the next attempted coup."
On Thursday afternoon, when asked about his remarks in the clip, McConnell said in a statement, "I have consistently pointed to the record-high turnout for all voters in the 2020 election, including African-Americans."
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for civil rights icon and the late Georgia Democratic representative, would “restore Justice Department review of changes in election laws in states with a history of discrimination.”
