Freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton are joining the chorus of prominent Democrats calling for the resignation of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam over a racist photo from his medical school yearbook.
The New York Post reports:
“Northam must resign, and those who try to help him stumble past this deserve scrutiny,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Saturday night.
“If you can’t understand how painful + eroding this is to American society, let alone the state of Virginia, take some time to read up this weekend,” the left-wing media darling added, suggesting people start with “Between the World and Me,” a nonfiction book by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
When the photo — showing one man in a KKK hood standing next to another in blackface — was revealed Friday, Northam, 59, apologized.
But the Democrat said Saturday that after consulting with family and friends he realized that he wasn’t actually in the picture, featured in Eastern Virginia Medical School’s 1984 yearbook.
The pediatric neurologist-turned-governor rejected calls to resign — though he did admit he once put shoe polish on his face to imitate Michael Jackson during a dance competition in Texas in 1984.
But prominent members of his party weren’t having it.
“This has gone on too long. There is nothing to debate. He must resign,” Hillary Clinton tweeted Saturday night.
Presidential hopefuls including Sens. Cory Booker (NJ), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) have also called for his resignation. As did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Joe Biden.
H/T nypost.com