MAGA Rep. Runs Away When Asked About Racist Hakeem Jeffries Remark |
MAGA Rep. Flees When Asked About Jeffries’s “Cotton-Picking Hands”
Representative Jen Kiggans agreed when a radio host made the wildly racist remark about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Representative Jen Kiggans won’t explain why she agreed with racist comments about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The Virginia Republican was completely mum Tuesday as MeidasTouch asked several point-blank questions related to her recent endorsement of a radio host saying Jeffries had “cotton-picking hands.”
“Representative, do you have anything more to say after agreeing with racist comments made by a radio host?” asked the reporter.
In another exchange, the MeidasTouch reporter asked if Kiggans would resign for agreeing with those comments, and the Republican briskly walked away.
Reporter: Do you have any more to say after agreeing with racist comments made by a radio host?Kiggans:Reporter: Will you resign for agreeing with those comments?Kiggans: pic.twitter.com/fc3F5fMJfE— Acyn (@Acyn) May 13, 2026
Reporter: Do you have any more to say after agreeing with racist comments made by a radio host?Kiggans:Reporter: Will you resign for agreeing with those comments?Kiggans: pic.twitter.com/fc3F5fMJfE
Kiggans has faced immense blowback since she appeared on Richmond-based radio commentator Rich Herrera’s show Monday to discuss the state’s hotly contested congressional maps. The since-deleted interview flew off the rails when Kiggans emphatically concurred with Herrera after he referred to Jeffries as a slave.
“He spent $20 million-plus on our redistricting debacle we had. He now is talking about ... firing our Supreme Court justices,” Herrera said of Jeffries. House Majority Forward, a nonprofit connected to Jeffries, spent roughly $40 million on the redistricting effort.
“If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he ... leave New York, move down here to Virginia, run for office down here, you can represent us,” Herrera continued. “If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.”
“That’s right. Ditto. Yes. Yes, to that,” Kiggans replied.
The term “cotton-picking hands” is heavily rooted in the history of U.S. slavery, literally referring to the Black men, women, and children who were forced to pick cotton.
Kiggans is up for reelection in November. One of her opponents in the race, former Representative Elaine Luria, wrote Monday evening that “the racist comments proudly endorsed today by Jen Kiggans ... are disgusting and beneath any elected official.”
In a statement on X Monday night, Kiggans claimed that she did not agree with the host’s remark and that it was “obvious” she was responding to the larger argument about Jeffries’s involvement in the redistricting effort. She argued that the nationwide political rebuke was “precisely what’s wrong with Democrats.”
“Every lie and distortion is intended to distract from getting their hats handed to them and the Virginia Supreme Court’s clear message: stop trying to rig our elections,” Kiggans wrote. “Democrats are trying to destroy Virginia’s court because they disagree with it. THAT is the real danger to our country.”
Christie Stephenson, a spokesperson for Jeffries, derided Kiggans Tuesday as an extremist who endorses “disgusting, vile and racist language” and “pretends to be a centrist.”
“The voters of Virginia will hold her accountable at the ballot box in November,” Stephenson said in a statement shared on X.
Trump Demands Mitch McConnell Fire Aide Who Reminded Him of Schedule
McConnell had attempted to end a Senate subcommittee hearing early, and he appeared confused when an aide stepped forward and reminded him three senators still needed to ask questions.
President Donald Trump demanded a congressional aide be fired Wednesday for making Senator Mitch McConnell look “completely out of it” during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.
The staffer approached McConnell after the Kentucky Republican attempted to preemptively conclude the hearing Tuesday, during which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine testified about the Pentagon’s behemoth budget request and the war in Iran. The staffer explained that some senators still needed to ask questions, and his directions were audible on the microphone.
McConnell: I’m going to ask Senator Murkowski to wrap up. Thank you all for being here Staffer: Baldwin, Shaheen, and Kennedy still have questions pic.twitter.com/S2z9Kv3OUI— Acyn (@Acyn) May 12, 2026
McConnell: I’m going to ask Senator Murkowski to wrap up. Thank you all for being here Staffer: Baldwin, Shaheen, and Kennedy still have questions pic.twitter.com/S2z9Kv3OUI
“The guy that came up to Mitch McConnell today when McConnell thought the hearing was over, and started speaking in his ear for Mitch to belatedly introduce some other people, all Democrats and, by doing so, made Mitch look foolish and completely out of it, should be immediately fired,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Wednesday.
“This was a case where Mitch wasn’t confused, he just didn’t understand why he was being asked to do something when it was too late, and people were wrapping up to leave—They wanted to go home.”
The remaining senators were Democrats Tammy Baldwin and Jeanne Saheen and Republican John Kennedy.
Clearly, someone—likely not Trump—had done some research on who the staffer was: Robert Karem. Although the president called him a “Never Trumper,” it seems Trump nominated Karem to serve as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in 2017. Karem currently serves as majority clerk for the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense.
Now, Trump accused Karem of “grandstanding,” adding: “FIRE THE BUM!” Trump seems to have taken a page out of Elon Musk’s book by targeting specific government workers on whom to unleash his most crazed followers.
Nebraska Democrat Sweeps to Victory in Weirdest Primary Ever
Cindy Burbank ran specifically to boost Nebraska independent candidate Dan Osborn.
The state Democratic Party favorite won Nebraska’s senatorial primary Tuesday evening—though she has no plans to make it to the general election.
Cindy Burbank actually campaigned on exiting the race. The retired pharmacy technician easily won over the state’s liberal voters Tuesday evening, securing 89.2 percent of the vote and every region of the state sans one rural county in a primary match-up against anti-abortion pastor Bill Forbes.
Forbes was accused of being a covert Republican, “planted” in the Democratic primary by Senator Pete Ricketts in order to give the incumbent an advantage come midterms.
While Burbank earned the state Democratic nomination, she was never the party’s favorite. Instead, knowing they would have little success on the ballot against an incumbent Republican, Democratic party leaders chose an unexpected third option: endorsing Dan Osborn, a mechanic and former labor union leader running as an independent.
“William Forbes is not running to serve Nebraskans. He is running to trick voters,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in March. “The Nebraska Democratic Party made a deliberate, principled decision not to field a candidate in the U.S. Senate race.”
Ricketts has........