Mike Huckabee Called Racist After Democratic Debate Live-Tweets

Governor Mike Huckabee is no stranger to controversial remarks, but he outdid himself on Tuesday, October 13. As part of his continued presidential campaign, Governor Huckabee live-tweeted to his 400,000 Twitter followers during the Democratic Presidential debate. In his live-tweet, Huckabee took shots at Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, calling her an “of the Washington-Wall Street élite” and accusing the former Secretary of State of believing that “the law doesn’t apply to her” in reference to her use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State.

But Huckabee’s harshest words were aimed at Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. In reference to Sander’s tax plan, Huckabee sent out a tweet that had many Twitter users crying foul.

I trust @BernieSanders with my tax dollars like I trust a North Korean chef with my labrador! #DemDebate

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

Interestingly, just minutes before his inflammatory tweet, Mike Huckabee commented about racism in America, calling it a problem of sin, not skin.

Racism exists because we have a sin problem in America, not a skin problem. #DemDebate

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

In fact, Governor Huckabee seemed to spend the entire night trying to use the Democratic presidential candidates’ words to make the wittiest, most catchy soundbite possible. Unfortunately for Governor Huckabee, his tweet about North Korean chefs didn’t seem to win over any potential voters. Despite being re-tweeted over 4,000 times and favorited over 3,000 times, most comments accused Governor Huckabee of blatant racism.

Several commenters, including comedian and political pundit John Fuglesang, called the comment particularly distasteful coming from Huckabee.

@GovMikeHuckabee @BernieSanders As opposed to, say, your son Dave with a labrador.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) October 14, 2015

Fugelsang’s tweet was in reference to a 1998 incident which involved Huckabee’s youngest son, David Huckabee. According to the Huffington Post, David Huckabee worked as a camp counselor at Camp Pioneer in 1998, when he was 17 years old. David Huckabee was fired from Camp Pioneer after he reportedly hung a stray dog from a tree. Reportedly, when asked about the incident, Governor Huckabee claimed the dog was emaciated and had mange.

While Governor Huckabee’s North Korean tweet was possibly the most offensive, it was by no means the only offensive attempt at a joke of the night. In reference to the Obama Administration’s continued tension with the Russian Federation’s President Vladimir Putin, Huckabee made reference to Tiananmen Square, the location of violent protests in 1989 which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Chinese citizens.

Oh please. Putin's rolling the @BarackObama/@HillaryClinton foreign policy like Chinese tanks in Tiananmen Square. #DemDebate

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

In response to calls that Governor Huckabee retract his tweet or apologize for offending anyone, he instead doubled down by accusing Democrats and liberals of supporting a brutal dictatorship.

Poor liberals think it's racist to deplore a brutal dictatorship. #DemDebate https://t.co/ItkrFfMYiL

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015

Despite Governor Huckabee’s repeated attempts to put the spotlight on himself during the Democratic Debate, he was upstaged by the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump. Donald Trump also live-tweeted the debate, though none of his tweets were met with the level of outrage that Governor Mike Huckabee earned. In fact, Donald Trump may turn out to be the biggest winner of the night. According to Time Magazine, Donald Trump added 60,000 Twitter followers during the debate, more than Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton combined.

Meanwhile, Governor Huckabee still lags far behind Donald Trump in terms of potential votes. According to a recent CBS News poll, Donald Trump has the backing of 27 percent of potential Republican primary voters. His closest competitor, Dr. Ben Carson, has 21 percent support. Governor Huckabee and Ohio Governor John Kasich tie for eighth place, both with 2 percent support.

Only time will tell whether Governor Huckabee’s attempts at wit will garner him enough support to tackle Donald Trump’s staggering lead.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]