Carl Paladino, Donald Trump's New York co-chairman, says he's "not racist" in apology for Michelle Obama remarks

Paladino has a bad case of the totally-not-racist-itis, saying he made a "mistake" wishing death on the president

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published December 27, 2016 7:35PM (EST)

Donald Trump, left, and Carl Paladino, who ran for governor of New York as a Republican in 2010, speak during a gun rights rally at the Empire State Plaza on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. Activists are seeking a repeal of a 2013 state law that outlawed the sales of some popular guns like the AR-15. The law championed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been criticized as unconstitutional by some gun rights activists. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)  (AP)
Donald Trump, left, and Carl Paladino, who ran for governor of New York as a Republican in 2010, speak during a gun rights rally at the Empire State Plaza on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. Activists are seeking a repeal of a 2013 state law that outlawed the sales of some popular guns like the AR-15. The law championed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been criticized as unconstitutional by some gun rights activists. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (AP)

Carl Paladino, the New York Republican who unsuccessfully ran for governor of that state in 2010, has issued the type of written statement that has become all too common among conservatives — a non-apology for saying something racist while denying that he was being racist.

Paladino blamed being "wired up" after listening to a speech by President Obama, he said, while never apologizing to anyone for what he said were his "inappropriate" statements — except to "the minority community who I spent years trying to help out of the cycle of poverty in our inner cities."

"I was wired up, primed to be human and make a mistake," Paladino, a member of the Buffalo board of education wrote in a statement on Tuesday. "I've spent years dedicated to the mission to defeat the thought that the liberal progressive elitist establishment can continue to hold our minority children captive in the cycle of poverty simply to provide their voting base. I don't intend to yield to the fanatics among my adversaries.  I certainly am not a racist."

Paladino's initial comments in an issue of alternative Buffalo-area website Artvoice alluded to him wishing death upon President Barack Obama, and comparing First Lady Michelle Obama to a primate.

"Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford," Paladino wrote when being asked about his wishes for 2017. "He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her."

Paladino set his sights on transgendered individuals as well as African-Americans in his comments about Michelle Obama.

"Michelle Obama," Paladino wrote. "I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."

On Friday, after his remarks were made public, Paladino doubled down on his remarks:

It has nothing to do with race. That’s the typical stance of the press when they can’t otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked.

It’s about two progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years. . .

Michelle hated America before her husband won. She then enjoyed all the attention, the multi -million dollar vacations, the huge staff and other benefits. Then when Hillary lost, she and Barack realized that without Hillary, there was no one to protect the little, if any, legacy he had. That’s when Michelle came out and said there is no hope for America. Good, let her leave and go someplace she will be happy.

As for Barack, he’s a yellow-bellied coward who left thousands to die in Syria and especially Aleppo and he gets on TV and says he feels bad he couldn’t do anything about it.

It’s about the end of an era when the people took all their information from the main street media, letting them tell us what the issues are and how to resolve those issues. People no longer trust the press.

It’s about that fraudulent, shadow government with a lazy ass president who allowed non-Americans like Valerie Jarret to run the government on a day to day basis and order the Stand down in Benghazi and the later cover-up that does matter.

During his gubernatorial campaign in 2010, Paladino stirred up controversy again and again. In April it was revealed that he had forwarded a series of racist and obscene emails. One December 2008 email showed African tribesman performing a dance in a video called "Obama Inauguration Rehearsal." A July 2009 email included a photograph of an airplane landing behind a group of black men, with a caption reading "Holy Shit. run n—s, run!" A September 2009 email showed a horse having sex with a woman, and an October 2009 email included a photoshopped image of the Obamas dressed like a 70's blaxploitation pimp and prostitute.

In June of that year, Paladino suggested housing welfare recipients in state prisons, arguing that "instead of handing out the welfare checks, we’ll teach people how to earn their check. We’ll teach them personal hygiene . . . the personal things they don’t get when they come from dysfunctional homes."

Finally, when confronted about the fact that he had a 10-year-old love child from a mistress, Paladino baselessly accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of having "paramours." Shortly thereafter, on another occasion when he was asked about his affair, Paladino responded with a threat against a New York Post reporter by saying, "You send another goon to my daughter's house and I'll take you out, buddy!"


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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Barack Obama Carl Paladino Michelle Obama Racism