US Representative Ron Paul has been slammed for a “racist” tweet that has offended a number of races.
Republican congressman Ron Paul has come under fire for tweeting a racist cartoon.
In the now deleted tweet, the Texas Republican wrote, “are you stunned by what has become of American culture? Well, it’s not an accident. You’ve probably heard of ‘cultural Marxism,’ but do you know what it means?”
Attached was a cartoon of four stereotypically drawn men – hooked-nose Jew, an Asian, a Hispanic and an African American. Joined together by a single fist, knocking out Uncle Sam, the men are yelling “CULTURAL MARXISM!”.
The cartoon showed the signature of cartoonist Ben Garrison, but the artist tweeted that it “totally” wasn’t his work, and “trolls” had pasted his signature the image.
holy shit ron paul posted le happy merchant cartoons, the man knows his base pic.twitter.com/p3LwvPvVJn
— K. Thor Jensen (@kthorjensen) July 2, 2018
Paul then denied having knowledge of the tweet and pinned the blame on a member of staff. “Earlier today a staff member inadvertently posted an offensive cartoon on my social media,” he wrote in another tweet. “I do not make my own social media posts and when I discovered the mistake it was immediately deleted.”
Twitter users were somewhat unforgiving towards Paul’s follow-up tweet.
“I take it that “inadvertently” means “Whoops, did I just say that out loud?” one user wrote.
“That’s not an apology Ron. Furthermore, YOU are responsible for your posts! YOU! Libertarian = takes responsibility, right?” wrote another.
That is totally NOT a Ben Garrison cartoon – This is a cartoon by someone else who trolls have pasted my signature on. Please always check https://t.co/Oj98iIxEAZ for REAL Ben Garrison Cartoons verification.
— Ben Garrison Cartoons at GrrrGraphics.com (@GrrrGraphics) July 2, 2018
I take it that "inadvertently" means "Whoops, did I just say that out loud?"
— Mary Thomson (@InfraredEyes) July 2, 2018
That's not an apology Ron. Furthermore, YOU are responsible for your posts! YOU! Libertarian = takes responsibility, right?
— Tim Mashburn (@tamashburn) July 2, 2018
To be clear, you're still cool with the next tweet your staff posted in its place, which also refers to "cultural Marxism"? pic.twitter.com/hGxL93iuFd
— ♨️Saucy Stacey♨️ (@DrSCubed) July 2, 2018
Let's be careful to note that it was a trusted staffer who is allowed to post as Ron Paul, so it isn't just "someone other than him." He never denounced the message, did he? He responded to the backlash, and there is a LOT of backlash. Good.
— Catherine 🌊 🐈🌷🌼🌺 (@CatSkoor) July 2, 2018
Ron – How do you "inadvertently" post a cartoon as racist as this?
Does that staffer still have posting privileges, and if so why?https://t.co/S3jJeEuJgn
I worked on your 1988 campaign, and I'm really appalled.— Bill Stewart (@BillStewart415) July 2, 2018
So someone on your staff is a racist antisemite? Oh well, whew. That’s a much better explanation.
— Ryan Bathe (@michellechel) July 2, 2018
