Steve Helber/AP
- Virginia Republicans and several members of Congress have urged Gov. Ralph Northam to resign after a photo of him in either blackface or a Ku Klux Klan costume surfaced online.
- Northam apologized on Twitter, saying he was ready to "do the hard work" of regaining the public’s trust.
Several Republicans have joined their Democratic colleagues in calling for the resignation of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam after a photo of him in either blackface or a Klu Klux Klan costume surfaced.
The conservative blog Big League Politics first published the photo that shows a man in blackface and a bow tie standing next to another person in a Klan robe and hood.
Northam confirmed he was in the photo, which appeared in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. He did not specify which person he was.
"I cannot change the decisions I made nor can I undo the harm my behavior caused then and today," he said in a video posted Friday on Twitter. "But I accept responsibility for my past actions, and I am ready to do the hard work of regaining your trust."
Several members of the public were protesting on Saturday outside the Virginia Governor’s mansion.
Meanwhile, members of Congress and political figures on both sides of the aisle have taken to Twitter and released statements calling for Northam, a Democrat, to step down immediately.
Despite nearly universal calls from Democrats for Northam’s resignation, Republicans and independents also chimed in.
Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia
Getty
"The racist photo of Governor Northam on his EVMS yearbook page is absolutely disturbing and unacceptable," Wittman said on Twitter.
"The hateful rhetoric that this photo represents has no place in our Commonwealth, and especially not the Governor’s mansion."
Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman of Virginia
Steve Helber/AP
As a Virginian & Rep. of Charlottesville, Gov. Northam’s yearbook photos hit more than a nerve," Riggleman said on Twitter.
"This Virginian demands an explanation. Now. Issues of racial discrimination cannot be taken lightly & this type of behavior is dangerous & unacceptable in any form."
Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio
John Minchillo/AP
"Very confused by people not calling for Northam’s resignation over his unrepentant support for infanticide this week," Davidson said on Twitter.
Davidson was referring to Northam’s comments on radio earlier this week on late-term abortion.
He continued, "Neither his hypocritical racism nor infanticide are defensible. One, however, is state-sanctioned murder. Apparently they’re more tolerant of killing babies?"
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- ‘No defense for that shockingly racist photograph’: Democrats are calling for Gov. Ralph Northam’s resignation after he appears in racist 1984 yearbook photo
- Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam admits he appeared in 1984 yearbook photo featuring ‘racist and offensive’ blackface costume
- The words ‘So help you God’ were about to be removed from a House committee’s oath, angering some Republicans
Source: Business Insider