If you thought the unprecedented levels of political pettiness were reserved for this circus of a presidential race, you would be wrong. Jon Girodes, Republican candidate for New York‘s 30th District, has taken the nonsense to new lows by vowing to hand out “Kool Aid, KFC and watermelons” to residents of a black neighborhood at a campaign event. Yep, you read it right.
In an email with NBC 4 New York regarding a completely unrelated story, Girodes included the following postscript invitation to a community event: “Ps I’m hosting an event in Harlem which will be in front of the state building in a few weeks. We will [donate] Kool Aid, KFC and watermelons to the public on 125th street in Harlem. Please join us to help the community.” In a true boss move, NBC 4 New York’s I-Team took to the streets to share Girodes’ comments and gather feedback from local passers-by. The reactions were epic.
When told of the politicians intentions to donate these racially stereotypical items to the neighborhood, local resident Jet Lintheylyrcil responded, “And we’re going to donate various foots in his ass.” When called to the carpet by the I-Team for his offensive pledge, Girodes defended his remarks saying, “Get a bunch of people who say it’s offensive and let me go into their neighborhood and give it out for free and see if they take it.”
After his controversial comments and amidst an investigation by the news team into his allegedly suspect real estate dealings, Girodes’ campaign website and social media pages were taken down. A senior GOP representative told the I-Team, “We are not supporting him. He’s not a real candidate.”
We can’t make this stuff up, ya’ll. Take a look at the full news broadcast here.
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