South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) recently landed in the hot seat following an incendiary remark he made about his colleagues across the political aisle.
“I look forward to the day that Democrats are so rare, we have to hunt them with dogs,” McMaster said, according to reporter Joseph Bustos, who tweeted during the event.
Bustos pointed out that the Republican governor had made this comment in the past, and was “repeating one of his favorite GOP lines.”
McMaster’s comment has since sparked backlash, with some even suggesting his comments were racially-charged and could incite violence. South Carolina Democrats have pointed out that the governor’s party is nearly entirely white, while the state’s Democrats are mostly Black.
“The majority of the Dem electorate in SC is Black and our governor is saying out loud he can’t wait to hunt us down with dogs,” Christale Spain, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, tweeted. “This is absolutely chilling to hear from a Southern Gov who knows our history.”
South Carolina Democrats are now demanding an apology from their governor as well as a retraction of the comment.
Chris Salley, the Anderson County Democratic Party chairman, requested the State Law Enforcement Division become involved if the governor doesn't apologize for his comment, which Salley called an “incitement of political violence” and opened a petition online to address the statement.
“As a Black, gay man in America, I’ve had to be on guard for people trying to ‘hunt me down’ most of my life and I know thousands of people across South Carolina are forced to feel the same,” Salley said. “This rhetoric emboldens violent extremists, chills political discourse, and needs to end.”
A spokesman for McMaster excused the governor by brushing the comment off as a “joke.”
“Governor McMaster has been making this joke at GOP conventions for years, and everyday South Carolinians understand that it's a joke," Brandon Charochak, the governor’s communications director, told the newspaper.
"If South Carolina Democrat partisans can no longer bear light-hearted jokes made at their expense, then maybe they should focus their energy on winning and not whining."