Mike Huckabee drew scrutiny on social media for a tweet claiming that he will identify as Chinese.
The former Arkansas governor, 65, attracted controversy from Twitter users who were offended by his Saturday morning tweet listing reasons he is choosing to “‘identify’ as Chinese.”
“I’ve decided to ‘identify’ as Chinese. Coke will like me, Delta will agree with my ‘values’ and I’ll probably get shoes from Nike & tickets to @MLB games,” Huckabee wrote. “Ain’t America great?”
I’ve decided to “identify” as Chinese. Coke will like me, Delta will agree with my “values” and I’ll probably get shoes from Nike & tickets to @MLB games. Ain’t America great?
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) April 3, 2021
The comments were widely criticized by Twitter users, many of whom found the tweet insensitive in light of reports rising rates of anti-Asian hate crimes throughout the nation.
Are you ready for when strangers kick you to the ground or set you on fire, Mike? Ain’t America grand? https://t.co/KEsBo3cLQj
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 3, 2021
Mike Huckabee is the David Duke of Dennis Millers https://t.co/DuX5aV8yIP
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) April 3, 2021
But you’ll still be Mike Huckabee. That’s your cross to bear. https://t.co/D2jIzF2yGz
— Wajahat “Butter King” Ali (@WajahatAli) April 3, 2021
This is disgraceful.
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) April 3, 2021
What in the openly racist hell?
— New Georgia Project (@NewGAProject) April 3, 2021
You are a pathetic excuse for a human being.#StopAAPIHate
— Katie S. Phang (@KatiePhang) April 3, 2021
Yeah, but you will also get told to go back to wherever you came from by racist followers of Mike Huckabee.
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) April 3, 2021
You’ve definitely “identified” yourself as a raging bigot, that’s for sure.
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) April 3, 2021
What weird hills you racist dinosaurs always want to die on.
— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) April 3, 2021
This is a shocking tweet from you.
I don’t agree with you politically, but I did have a higher opinion of you.
This public message is unbecoming of someone of your service and stature.
Win with ideas. This is disappointing.
— Kiff VandenHeuvel (@kiffvh) April 3, 2021
Hmmm… I’d say you identify more as “Human Garbage”.
— Mark Judson For Congress – Scorched Earth Dem 2022 (@Judson4Congress) April 3, 2021
Huckabee’s tweet and the resultant backlash touch on two political controversies. Many Twitter users alluded to the nationwide increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in recent months. A recent study revealed hate crimes against Asian Americans spiked almost 150% throughout 2020, which some attributed in part to COVID-19’s original discovery in Wuhan, China, and the decision by many, including former President Donald Trump, to refer to the disease as the “China virus.”
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The former governor’s argument that identifying as Chinese would endear him to Coca-Cola, Delta, and Major League Baseball is an apparent reference to the controversy surrounding a new voter law in the state of Georgia. After Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation imposing rules on voter identification requirements and limiting ballot drop boxes, many corporations with ties to the state, such as Delta and Coca-Cola, issued statements critical of the voting legislation.
Some took action, such as MLB, which announced on Friday that it would move its All-Star Game and 2021 draft from Atlanta in protest of the voting law.
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. said. “We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”
While MLB’s decision was supported by many Democrats, including President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, several Republicans were miffed by the announcement, citing some of the corporations’ ties to China as evidence of apparent hypocrisy.
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Sen. Tom Cotton employed sarcasm to express his displeasure.
“Hey @MLB, how many days of early voting are allowed in China?” the Arkansas Republican tweeted on Friday.
