Tulsi Gabbard on Chicago mayor’s decision to limit media interviews to people of color: ‘Anti-white racism’

Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) decision to limit media interviews to journalists of color was “anti-white racism” and called for her resignation.

Lightfoot drew scrutiny this week after deciding to grant one-on-one interviews only to people of color to cover her two-year anniversary in office.

Gabbard said the decision was “abhorrent” and called on leaders to “condemn all racism, including anti-white.”

“Mayor Lightfoot’s blatant anti-white racism is abhorrent. I call upon President Biden, Kamala Harris, and other leaders of our county—of all races—to join me in calling for Mayor Lightfoot’s resignation. Our leaders must condemn all racism, including anti-white,” Gabbard tweeted.

Mayor Lightfoot’s blatant anti-white racism is abhorrent. I call upon President Biden, Kamala Harris, and other leaders of our county—of all races—to join me in calling for Mayor Lightfoot’s resignation. Our leaders must condemn all racism, including anti-white.

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) May 21, 2021

Gabbard’s tweet was the subject of scrutiny, with some Twitter users pushing back on the phrase “anti-white racism.”

Qasim Rashid tweeted in response, “PSA: White is not a culture. There’s German culture. French culture. Dutch culture. Irish culture. Celebrate them! But no such thing as ‘white culture.’ So when people label racism as ‘anti-white,’—they’re not defending any culture—they’re defending being racist w/o consequence.”

PSA: White is not a culture. There’s German culture. French culture. Dutch culture. Irish culture. Celebrate them! But no such thing as “white culture.”

So when people label racism as “anti-white,”—they’re not defending any culture—they’re defending being racist w/o consequence.

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) May 21, 2021

There is no such thing as “anti-white racism”. There are no systemic or widely-cultural barriers for white people that infringe on how we move through the world. This is silly as hell. https://t.co/uAYCRJ9ExP

— Charlotte Clymer ️‍ (@cmclymer) May 21, 2021

Conservatives, on the other hand, praised Gabbard’s tweet.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) tweeted, “I’m with @TulsiGabbard on Lori Lightfoot. Her comments are disgusting, despicable and simply inexplicable. She needs to resign.”

I’m with @TulsiGabbard on Lori Lightfoot.

Her comments are disgusting, despicable and simply inexplicable.

She needs to resign.

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 22, 2021

Lightfoot sparked controversy after Mary Ann Ahern, a political reporter for NBC 5 Chicago, tweeted on Tuesday that the mayor was granting interviews only to journalists of color.

The mayor confirmed the move on Wednesday, saying in part that she was “struck since my first day on the campaign trail in 2018 by the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically.”

She later tweeted that she was being “intentional about prioritizing media requests from POC reporters on the occasion of the two-year anniversary.”

Lightfoot’s move was criticized by other reporters who argued that politicians can’t choose who covers them.