Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggested on Thursday that Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., is racist a day after he had a fiery exchange over racism at Michael Cohenâs hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
Omar shared a video posted by liberal activist Shaun King on her Instagram story, which showed Meadows talking in 2012 about sending President Barack Obama âback home to Kenya or wherever.â
Meadows made the comments in reference to the “birther” conspiracy in 2012 when he was a congressional candidate.
âSure this man isnât racist,â Omar wrote about the video.
Meadows sought to distance himself from the comments on Thursday, saying, âIt was not the way that I shouldâve answered the questions.â
âCertainly is not something that I support from a standpoint of any racial overtones,â he said, according to CNN. âI can tell you that anyone who knows me knows that there is not a racial bone in my body.”
Videos of his past comments resurfaced after Meadows clashed with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who said Wednesday it was a racist act that the Republican would use a black Trump administration official as a âprop.â
Meadows had Lynne Patton, a longtime associate of Trumpâs who now works at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, stand behind him for part of the hearing to counter Cohenâs claim that Trump is racist.
“Just because someone has a person of color, a black person working for them, does not mean they aren’t racist,” said Tlaib. “And it is insensitive that some would even say â the fact that someone would actually use a prop, a black woman in this chamber, in this committee, is alone racist in itself.”
Meadows erupted at the comment and Tlaib clarified that she was not calling Meadows a racist but he had engaged in a âracist act.â
