Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele expressed shock after the communications director for the Conservative Political Action Conference said he was only elected to lead the party because of his race.
“We elected Mike Steele as chairman because he was a black guy, that was the wrong thing to do,” Ian Walters told hundreds of conservatives during the Ronald Reagan dinner Friday night.
The comment was met with gasps from dinner attendees.
WATCH: At the Ronald Reagan Dinner at CPAC, ACU Communications Director Ian Walters said the RNC hired Michael Steele as chairman in 2009 “because he’s a black guy.” pic.twitter.com/g6YcyLET5w— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 24, 2018
“I had one of those moments where you just go, ‘What the…’” Steele later told MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
Steele said he was shocked at “how quickly people revert to race as a weapon,” and he planned to discuss the comment with CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp.
“[I’m] surprised that people still in this party feel this way and look at the contributions that anyone would make to the party through the prism of race. It’s unfortunate. It’s stupid. It’s immature,” Steele said.
Walter did call Steele to explain himself and apologized, Steele said.
“I just said, ‘You know, that’s not acceptable. It’s not enough,” Steele said of his response to Walter.
Steele led the RNC from 2009 to 2011.
