MAGA Representative Thinks Hakeem Jeffries Has “Cotton-Picking Hands” |
MAGA Virginia Rep. Thinks Hakeem Jeffries Has “Cotton-Picking Hands”
Representative Jen Kiggans agreed when a far-right radio host made the racist insult.
A Republican Virginia lawmaker is facing calls to resign after she agreed with a wildly racist statement about Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Representative Jen Kiggans appeared on Richmond-based radio commentator Rich Herrera’s show Monday to discuss the state’s hotly contested congressional maps. But 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.”
“I grew up in the South. I know what these racist dog whistles mean,” Luria added.
The number two House Democrat, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, called on Kiggans to resign shortly after clips of the interview were made public.
In a statement on X, 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.”
By Tuesday morning, the radio interview had been taken off Apple Podcasts, as well as the host’s YouTube channel.
Kiggans’s comments come at a volatile time in U.S. history. Late last month, the Supreme Court effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act by ruling that Louisiana’s congressional maps amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering since they included two Black-majority voting districts.
This story has been updated.
Trump Accuses Obama of Treason in Unhinged Crashout About Black People
Donald Trump posted multiple times implying that Black people are a public menace.
A disturbing trend emerged in President Donald Trump’s latest Truth Social tirade.
Trump posted more than 55 times in just three hours on Monday night, unloading a ton of conspiracy theory content targeting former President Barack Obama, peppered with videos of Black people causing mayhem.
Trump’s onslaught began by claiming that Obama had attempted a coup and boosting a call to “arrest Obama the traitor.” He then posted months-old coverage of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s claims that the Obama administration had pushed the “lie” that Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election, which was something Putin has openly admitted.
As Trump continued to post, his allegations got increasingly outlandish. The president shared posts claiming that Obama made $120 million from Obamacare and accusing Obama of “the most heinous crimes committed in American history,” including wiretapping Trump Tower. Other posts mentioned figures such as Senator Mark Kelly, Clinton, and Jack Smith, but Obama’s name appeared over and over again.
After about half an hour of nonstop posting, Trump interrupted his screed against his political enemies to share a video that appeared to show young Black people stealing from a convenience store. “This is why the convenience store chain ‘Wawa’ is closing stores one after another,” the post read.
Then Trump posted another video that purported to show a Black woman working for DoorDash picking up an order, only to be discovered eating the food in her car. “Always scheming,” the post read.
The president also shared a video of a Black man purposefully knocking over a waiter’s tray in a restaurant. “I wouldn’t call him a man,” the post read. “A real man would never disrespect another person like this. I’ll call him what he is, a POS!”
Trump resumed his political posting, sharing a video in which right-wing lawyer Mike Davis called Obama a “demonic force.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Trump’s social media spiraling has taken on racist overtones as he targets Obama. In February, the president shared a video on Truth Social that ended with a short clip of the Obamas’ laughing heads superimposed on the bodies of apes.
Trump continued his deranged posting into the night, and then resumed it when the sun came up. He posted Tuesday morning about a fictional “Federal Victory Note” currency that had his face on it, an AI-generated meme about “Hakeem ‘Low IQ’ Jeffries,” and another AI image of Obama, Joe Biden, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi swimming in a sewage-filled Reflecting Pool.
Trump Turns White House UFC Cage Match Into Massive Cash Grab
Tickets for the event are supposed to be free, but the Trump administration has already found a way to make millions.
Tickets to President Trump’s planned UFC fight on the White House lawn are going to cost a hefty amount.
NBC News........