Texas Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt slammed the left for its attempts at presenting the right as “racist” when, he claims, the very opposite is true.
In a clip from Friday’s Timcast IRL that saw over one million views as of Monday evening, Hunt accused Democrats of having “gotten away with painting the Republican Party as being racist.”
“And then someone like me comes around and decides to run for Congress,” he said.
Noting how his experience runs counter to that depiction, Hunt turned to his own district in Houston.
“I live in a district that President Trump would have won by 23 points [and] I ended up winning by 30 points,” he stated. “And in the Republican primary, I beat out 9 white guys. In the general election, I beat out a white guy by 30 points … I outperformed the president … and it’s a white-majority district.”
The congressman also explained that his support from white voters stems from his record and not his complexion.
“In the Republican primary, 75% of the voters were white and they voted for me overwhelmingly. Why? Because I was the best candidate. That’s it. That’s literally what our party is,” he said.
“I get to wake up every day and live Martin Luther King’s dream: I’m literally being judged by the content of my character, not by the color of my skin,” he added.
Claiming he only seeks “to better America,” Hunt insisted he does not view himself as “black or African American first.”
“First of all, I’m an American, I’m a combat veteran, I am a father, I am a West Point graduate, I am an Ivy League graduate — we could go all the way down the line before I get to ‘black guy,’” he explained.
He then lauded the fact that the GOP refuses to play identity politics.
“Realizing that you see people like me, you see people like [Florida Republican Rep.] Byron Donalds, you see people like [South Carolina Senator] Tim Scott, [and] we are all winning in white-majority areas…,” he said. “So you can’t call us racist anymore.”
Many took to social media to support Hunt’s message.
“Republicans support candidates on merit, not race,” wrote one Twitter user.
“Because the Republican Party is about being the best … not being black or white or orange, or politically correct,” wrote another user.
“When race is your identity it’s only because you have nothing else to blame, and nothing else to your name … including work ethic,” another user wrote.
The matter comes as minority Republicans continue to face racist rhetoric from both the left and left-leaning “conservatives.”
Last month, Lincoln Project senior adviser Tara Setmayer was accused of “racism” over her remarks describing Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina as a “racial pacifier” and “racial security blanket” of the GOP.
Previously, Hunt slammed the Biden administration for “using racism as a scapegoat for everything.”
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.