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Joshua Zitser
Nov 09, 2020

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A former MP and current life peer has sparked furious backlash for a tweet about Kamala Harris.
Lord John Kilclooney, who was previously deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, made a string of offensive comments about the vice-president-elect.
In one tweet, he wrote: “What happens if Biden moves on and the Indian becomes President. Who then becomes Vice President?”
Although Harris is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, she was born in Oakland, California.
She also, importantly, has a name,
Kilclooney claimed not to know it.
@mattfivenine Oh Harris is her name! The media has simply been reporting a ‘black person!’— Lord John Kilclooney (@Lord John Kilclooney) 1604922854
@mattfivenine Do not know her name yet!— Lord John Kilclooney (@Lord John Kilclooney) 1604922412
People were outraged by the peer's disrespectful comments about the future vice president.
This guy is a life peer. What a country. https://t.co/91npday8bm— Nish Kumar (@Nish Kumar) 1604928847
He did it before to Leo Varadkar and now he's done it to Kamala Harris. This sort of racism would be unacceptable f… https://t.co/irjXGQeHl4— Wes Streeting MP (@Wes Streeting MP) 1604927580
Her name is Kamala Harris https://t.co/LvDxjgx1PB— Angela Rayner (@Angela Rayner) 1604927073
@KilclooneyJohn This is an unacceptably racist thing to say. For goodness sake man, show some dignity & decency, de… https://t.co/WG4NmBhiVH— Tim Andrews (@Tim Andrews) 1604929056
This isn't the first time Kilclooney has made this sort of comment.
In 2018, he referred to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as a "typical Indian".
In 2017, he was called out by Piers Morgan for saying that cricket Moeen Ali was not "racially" English.
Nonetheless, somehow, he remains in the House of Lords.
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