Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) on Thursday morning walked again his feedback calling Haitians “thugs” after backlash from each side of the aisle.
“You never want to intentionally hurt someone’s feelings, and that post was intended for Haitian gangs, you understand?” Higgins told reporters. “Not for, I mean, Haiti as a country, not at all. And the unintended impact that was expressed very sincerely from one of my colleagues very graciously, that touched me as a gentleman.”
On Wednesday, Higgins posted on X that “Haitians are wild” and that Haiti is the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.” He additionally promoted a false declare about Haitian migrants in Ohio consuming pets.
“All these thugs better get their mind right and their a– out of our country before January 20th,” the publish concluded.
He deleted the publish a number of hours later.
The Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday lambasted Higgins for his remarks, calling for him to be censured. Some Home Republicans additionally criticized the feedback.
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), mentioned he was “shocked and disappointed” by Higgins’s feedback, including that the rhetoric decreased “Haitian immigrants to offensive tropes.”
“Immigrants deserve dignity, humanity, and respect, not threats,” Duarte posted on X. “I hope Mr. Higgins recognizes that his words were completely unacceptable and apologizes for what he said.”
Higgins deleted the social media publish on Wednesday following a confrontation from members of the CBC, together with Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), chair of the caucus, however doubled down on the feedback shortly after in a press release to CNN.
“It’s all true. I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to,” Higgins despatched to Anderson Cooper. “I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want. It’s not a big deal to me. It’s like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life.”
Cooper requested Horsford on Wednesday if his movement to censure was “off the table” till after the following election, however Horsford mentioned no.
“It’s not about the next election,” Horsford mentioned. “It’s about the fact that this type of divisive, racially charged rhetoric needs to stop right now.”
It was not instantly clear if Higgins’s feedback on Thursday would finish the CBC’s requires censure.
