South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican, faces demands from state Democrats to apologize for a remark he used during a Republican Party event over the weekend.
McMaster said, “I look forward to the day when Democrats will be so rare, we’ll have to hunt them with dogs.” a state GOP conventionJoseph Bustos, a reporter for The State newspaper, Tweeted during the event.
McMaster’s remarks immediately drew condemnation from South Carolina Democrats, who called on the Republican governor to apologize.
Anderson County Democratic Party shared a petition online with a statement from its president, Chris Sally, asking McMaster to apologize and “withdraw the racially-tinged dog whistle” and for the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division to investigate “this threat and incitement to political violence”. asked to start. The governor refused to do so.
“As a black, gay man in America, I have had to be wary of people trying to ‘prey me’ for most of my life and I know that thousands of people throughout South Carolina feel compelled to are, Sally Said, “This rhetoric emboldens violent extremists, chills political discourse, and needs to end.”
South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Cristale Spain condemned McMaster’s comments. “absolutely chilling” to listen to.
“The majority of Dem voters in SC are black and our governor is saying out loud that he can’t wait to hunt us with the dogs,” Spain, who is also black, Tweeted, “It’s absolutely chilling to hear that. Southern government that knows our history.
Brandon Charochak, a spokesman for McMaster, said in response to Democrats’ protests that the governor had issued the same remarks at previous GOP conventions, adding that “everyday South Carolinians understand this is a joke.”
“If South Carolina Democrat partisans can no longer tolerate light-hearted jokes being made at their expense, then maybe they should focus their energy on winning and not cry,” Charochak said in a statement.
McMaster previously referred to Democrats as “dogs” in remarks at a barbecue event in 2018. State reported,
“Our Democratic friends are like dogs. One on one, they’re really good, but in a pack they’re dangerous,” McMaster said at the 2018 event, The State reported. “So I tell you, we can’t give up. We have to work hard. And in South Carolina we’re making progress, and it’s because we have a president … Donald Trump, who we’ve had so far.” Or one of the greatest people of all time.
