A black Republican congressional candidate blasted Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on Friday night for claiming that conservatives want to ban interracial marriage after they end abortion.
After a draft majority opinion showing that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked on Monday, Swalwell claimed that Republicans “won’t stop with banning abortion” and will shoot to “ban interracial marriage” next. Wesley Hunt — an African-American congressional candidate from Texas who is in an interracial marriage and has two biracial daughters — called out Swalwell’s tweet as ludicrous.
“Hi Eric, my name is Wesley Hunt, I’m a Republican nominee in a Congressional District that is 70% white,” the candidate said. “I’m black, I’m in an interracial marriage, and my wife and I have two biracial daughters. Republicans are celebrating diversity while white liberals like yourself race-bait.”
Hi Eric, my name is Wesley Hunt, I’m a Republican nominee in a Congressional District that is 70% white. I’m black, I’m in an interracial marriage, and my wife and I have two biracial daughters. Republicans are celebrating diversity while white liberals like yourself race-bait. https://t.co/r7bSNlskVp
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) May 3, 2022
“Hey Wesley, your problem isn’t with me. It’s with @SenatorBraun who said states should be able to ban interracial marriages like yours,” Swalwell replied. “He’s a senator in YOUR party. Looks like you’re just another Republican who is in denial of what your colleagues say. Party over country, right?”
Hey Wesley, your problem isn’t with me. It’s with @SenatorBraun who said states should be able to ban interracial marriages like yours. He’s a senator in YOUR party. Looks like you’re just another Republican who is in denial of what your colleagues say. Party over country, right? https://t.co/mfH8tlilvg
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) May 6, 2022
Swalwell was referring to an interaction between Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) and members of the media in which he initially said that the Supreme Court’s tentative overturning of Roe v. Wade could apply to Loving v. Virginia, in which the high court ruled in favor of interracial marriages. Braun clarified later that day that he misunderstood the reporters’ line of questioning, affirming that “there is no question the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, that is not something that is even up for debate, and I condemn racism in any form.”
“Eric, here we go again. My problem is with you,” Hunt replied to Swalwell. “You’ve never been black a day in your life, and yet the white “intellectual” Democrat from California is lecturing me on racism. And for the record, don’t lecture me on country over party either, I served in combat, did you?”
Eric, here we go again. My problem is with you. You’ve never been black a day in your life, and yet the white “intellectual” Democrat from California is lecturing me on racism. And for the record, don’t lecture me on country over party either, I served in combat, did you? https://t.co/mHnZOqzLUn
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) May 7, 2022
According to his campaign website, Hunt received a mechanical engineering degree from West Point before serving for eight years in the U.S. Army as an Aviation Branch Officer and AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter pilot. He completed a combat tour in Iraq, as well as two deployments to Saudi Arabia as a Diplomatic Liaison Officer. Hunt later attended Cornell University and earned three graduate
President Joe Biden had his own racial incident this week for commenting on the old days of having lunch with “real segregationists” during an event in Ohio.
“Even back in the old days when we had real segregationists like [James] Eastland and [Strom] Thurmond and all those guys, but [at least] we end up eating lunch together,” Biden said. “Things have changed, we’ve gotta bring it back.”
In response to the leaked Roe opinion, Biden issued a statement vowing to enshrine the 1973 ruling into federal law.
“I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” Biden said. “If the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose.”
“And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November,” he continued. “At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
Abortion, however, is more pervasive among and destructive to African-Americans than any other racial group in the United States. In places like New York City, more black babies are aborted every year than born alive.