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White Republican congressman bizarrely claims he’s a ‘person of colour’

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Picture:
Ethan Miller/Getty

A Republican lawmaker has claimed he is a person of colour because he is white, and white is a colour.

Speaking to Viceahead of a vote on a resolution to condemn the president over his recent racist tweets: “You know, they talk about people of colour.

I'm a person of colour.

I’m white. I’m an Anglo Saxon. People say things all the time, but I don’t get offended.

With a name like Mike Kelly you can’t be from any place else but Ireland.

Kelly’s comment did not go down well online.

Others pointed out that there was once very real segregation in the US in which people were divided up on the basis of "coloured" - and "whites only".

And said his words were a defence of Trump's recent racist comments.

However, the GOP rep later said the reporter “mischaracterised” their conversation.

The reporter's tweet mischaracterised our conversation and my broader point: We’re all created equal. It’s time to stop fixating on our differences and focus on what unites us.

He went on to say that he had “thicker skin” than other people and doesn’t get offended by things as easily.

The House voted on Tuesday to formally condemn Trump’s tweets as racist, with 240 Democrats in favour and 187 Republicans opposed.

Despite the vote falling along party lines, four Republicans voted in favour, going against many of their colleagues. They were Will Hurd, Susan Brooks, Brian Fitzpatrick and Fred Upton.

H/T The Hill

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