Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.) has come under scrutiny after reports of him rejecting accusations of racism through claiming his son was “named after a Black guy who was killed giving his life for them in Afghanistan.”
The accusations stemmed from whether Taylor would show support of Virginia GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart who has been accused of problematic rhetoric.
“I don’t give a s— about Corey Stewart,” Taylor said in an interview with The Virginian-Pilot. “No one else does either except for Democrats who are trying to target me. … No one cares, except for a small teeny amount of people you met at the cupcake place. What are they trying to say? That Scott Taylor likes Corey Stewart so therefore he’s a racist?”
Taylor went on to say, “Do you think that’s going to play here? My son is named after a black guy. I’m a military guy. We don’t give a s— about where you come from. Black, White, Brown, gay, straight. I don’t care.”
After The Hill reported on this statement, Taylor took to Twitter to express how he felt the publication was trying to “editorialize” what he was saying and “make someone out to be a racist.”
In the comment section of The Hill’s article Ian R. said, “‘I’m not racist; I named my kid after a black guy.’ That’s a new take on the “I have Black friends” argument, time-tested and approved by racists for many years.”