MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski recognized a double-standard in the media Monday, saying a Republican wouldn’t have been able to get away with Dick Harpootlian’s comment, where he vowed to send Indian-American Gov. Nikki Haley “back to wherever the hell she came from.”
“Let me just say, fair enough, that if a Republican did this we’d be covering it like crazy, so we’re covering it because it was wrong and those statements were absolutely wrong,” she said. “I don’t care what he meant. He should just say he regrets it.”
MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle agreed, saying the network probably would have led with the story, had the political affiliations been reversed.
The South Carolina Democratic leader made the controversial comment at the party’s Jefferson Jackson dinner over the weekend.
When asked by Politico what he meant by his remarks, Mr. Harpootlian said he was referring to Lexington County.
“[S]he was born in Bamberg [South Carolina] and lived in Lexington,” Mr. Harpootlian said in an email. “Anybody implying anything different is attempting to feign insult.”
Mrs. Haley was born in South Carolina to two Indian parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Punjab.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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