A Republican candidate is drawing heavy backlash for racist comments he made about MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry on Twitter. According to reports by the NY Daily News, New York state senatorial candidate Jim Coughlan tweeted to Harris-Perry, “Unless you’re my wife don’t call them ‘our’ children. Keep your stinking paws off my kid you damned dirty ape.”
He made the remarks after Harris-Perry spoke out in an ad about communities helping to raise children. “We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities,” Harris-Perry said.
After being blasted by Democrats and other Republicans, Coughlan lied and said that he didn’t know Harris-Perry was black. However, if he tweeted her in response to her statement, it’s likely that he took the time to see that he was tweeting a black woman.
Like most irrational public figures who mess up on social media, Coughlan deleted his Twitter account.
Coughlan has yet to apologize to Harris-Perry for his racist comment.
