After delivering racist remarks on “The Daily Show” Wednesday night, North Carolina Republican official and conservative activist Don Yelton has agreed to step down from his position as the GOP’s precinct chairman of Buncombe County. In an astounding display of boldness, Yelton stood by his bigoted comments a day later and claims he said worse things off-air.t
Yelton’s appearance on the Comedy Central network’s satirical talk show was draped in humor as expected, and the bit also featured comments from Rep. John Lewis speaking on the Supreme Court’s earlier decision to strike down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act.
However, things took a turn when Yelton decided to speak freely and offer his opinion on African-American voters and the Democratic Party:
The law is going to kick the Democrats in the butt. If it hurts a bunch of college kids that are too lazy to get up off their bohonkas and go get a photo ID, then so be it. If it hurts a bunch of whites, so be it. If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, then so be it.
Watch Wednesday’s “Daily Show segment below:
Speaking in direct contrast to his fellow Republicans who argue that the newly instated voter ID laws aren’t about partisanship or voter suppression, Yelton’s words weren’t shocking as they were revelatory.
The Buncombe County Republican Party quickly took to Facebook to separate themselves from Yelton, and sent out the following statement:
On behalf of the Buncombe County Republican Party we would like to express our sincerest regrets and disappointment in the comments made by Don Yelton on the Wednesday edition of Jon Stewarts “The Daily Show”. Mr. Yeltons comments are offensive, uniformed, and unacceptable of any member within the Republican Party. In no way are his comments representative of the local or state Republican Party.“Let me make it very clear, Mr. Yelton’s comments do not reflect the belief or feelings of Buncombe republicans, nor do they mirror any core principle that our party is founded upon” said Chairman Mitchell. “This mentality will not be supported or propagated within our party”.
The Buncombe County GOP asked Yelton to step down, a move they’ve made previously before reinstating him this summer, and he has agreed to comply. However, Yelton staunchly defended his comments and claims much harsher comments were made.
“The comments that were made, that I said, I stand behind them. I believe them,” said Yelton to alternative weekly newspaper, the Mountain Xpress. “To tell you the truth, there were a lot of things I said that they could’ve made sound worse than what they put up.”
Buncombe GOP officials were clear to state that Yelton did not receive prior approval to represent the county on behalf of the party. Yelton claims he made it clear to “Daily Show” producers that he was speaking on his behalf only.
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