Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday called for the resignation of a Texas Democratic Party official who called Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) an “oreo.”
Gary O’Connor, chairman of the Lamar County Democratic Party, wrote in a Facebook post that Scott — the lone black Republican in the Senate who delivered a scathing rebuttal on Wednesday following President Joe Biden’s address to the nation — is “little more than an oreo with no real principles.” The post has since been deleted.
“This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable,” the Republican governor wrote on Twitter. “O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately.” Abbott also said that the Texas Democratic Party should “censure him” for the racial slur.
This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable.
O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately. @texasdemocrats censure him.https://t.co/wJLTqaHlLb
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 1, 2021
Urban Dictionary defines “oreo” as a “Term for African Americans that the black community is generally offended with for betraying their roots usually for dating caucasian girls, dressing too white, talking too white, etc. The term is branded OREO since they are ‘Black on the outside, White on the inside.'”
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) also ripped the racist comment as “abhorrent, insulting, and unforgivable.”
Gary O’Connor’s comment against @SenatorTimScott is abhorrent, insulting, and unforgivable.
Both he and the entire Lamar County Democratic Party should be ashamed of this racist behavior.
(via @FoxNews @HoustonKeene)https://t.co/GUf19kyzbd
— Rep. Pat Fallon (@RepPatFallon) May 1, 2021
The first-term congressman called on O’Connor to “apologize and step down immediately” and asked the Texas Democratic Party and the NAACP “to condemn these words.”
Scott on Wednesday slammed Biden as he delivered the Republican Party’s rebuttal speech, saying Biden delivered only “empty platitudes.”
“He promised to unite a nation. To lower the temperature. To govern for all Americans, no matter how we voted,” Scott said of Biden. “That was the pitch. You just heard it again. But our nation is starving for more than empty platitudes. We need policies and progress that bring us closer together.”
“Tonight we also heard about a so-called ‘Family Plan.’ Even more taxing, even more spending, to put Washington even more in the middle of your life — from the cradle to college. The beauty of the American Dream is that families get to define it for themselves,” Scott said. “We should be expanding opportunities and options for all families — not throwing money at certain issues because Democrats think they know best.”
The black lawmaker also blasted Biden for claiming America is racist. “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country. It’s backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it’s wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.”
RELATED: 5 Must-See Moments From Sen. Tim Scott’s GOP Response To President Biden’s Congressional Address
The phrase “Uncle Tim” trended on Twitter after Scott delivered the GOP’s rebuttal.
“I get called ‘Uncle Tom’ and the N-word — by ‘progressives.’ By liberals,” Scott said in his speech, in which he recounted his hardscrabble rise in politics.
Almost immediately after Scott’s speech, “Uncle Tim” began trending on Twitter nationally, with one poster writing, “Sen @TimScottSC is uncle Tom’ing it for his life. So sad. South Carolina should be so ashamed,” wrote comedian and television personality Scott Nevins in a now-deleted tweet.
RELATED: ‘Uncle Tim’ Trends On Twitter After Tim Scott’s Rebuttal To Biden’s SOTU Address