The South Carolina debate was canceled Friday night because Lindsey Graham wouldn’t consent to a coronavirus test. But both Graham and his Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison took part in a candidate forum instead. Since the candidates appeared solo there weren’t many fireworks to speak of, but one remark Graham made will surely haunt him until election day, perhaps even longer. He sent this warning to young black people:
“If you’re a young African American, an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state. You just need to be conservative, not liberal.”
South Carolina political analyst Bakari Sellers said: “@LindseyGrahamSC comments yesterday on being black in S.C. were not only ignorant and asinine, but also dangerous.”
The New York Times says “It was not clear what Mr. Graham meant by his remarks. An email to a spokesman on Saturday was not immediately returned.” But the message seemed to be received loud and clear.
Harrison hasn’t directly responded to this remark, but perhaps this is his reaction.