‘Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) President Donald Trump has faced plenty of attacks in the left-wing media for what they characterize as inflammatory, xenophobic remarks.
Now, as Sen. Joe Donnelly faces the prospect of losing his seat in the battleground state of Indiana, the incumbent Democrat seems to be asking himself, “What would Donald do?”
Like other red-state Democrats, Donnelly is paying for his polarizing vote against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and frantically trying to backpedal on his more liberal positions.
His Republican challenger, businessman Mike Braun, has surged ahead after running behind for the past several months, according to RealClearPolitics.
But while many of Indiana’s conservative voters may applaud Donnelly’s working with Trump to address issues like illegal immigration, his cavalier attitudes toward race may raise some eyebrows.
At a debate Tuesday night, in response to a question about the diversity of his staff, Donnelly seemed to imply that his minority workers were excelling in spite of their racial identity.
“Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job,” he said. “Our director of all constituent services, she’s African American. But she does an even more incredible job than you could ever imagine.”
In context, Donnelly seemed to be making the broader point that their race was irrelevant.
But others, like U.S. News & World Report writer David Catanese, certainly took note of the awkward phrasing.
Some odd phrasing from @SenDonnelly attempting to highlight the diversity of his staff:
“Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job.”#INSEN
— David Catanese (@davecatanese) October 30, 2018
Donnelly isn’t the only Democrat this week to face heat over a potentially racist, insensitive remark.
Hillary Clinton, who some have speculated may be gearing up for a 2020 presidential run, made an apparent racial joke during an interview with tech website Recode.
In response to interviewer Kara Swisher mixing up the violent rhetoric of Sen. Cory Booker and former Attorney General Eric Holder, Clinton quipped, “I know they all look alike.”
“No they don’t,” Swisher replied.