NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang held a news conference on Tuesday to denounce this cartoon depicting him as a tourist who is just visiting the city he wants to govern:
Cartoon pic.twitter.com/3s68j4EHct
— Bill Bramhall (@BillBramhall) May 24, 2021
Yang called the cartoon racist, saying it’s a “stereotype which has been used to divide and exclude people for hundreds of years”:
My thoughts on the racist cartoon of me published by the Daily News. pic.twitter.com/Z9F9O2bNXP
— Andrew Yang🧢🗽🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) May 25, 2021
The cartoon was in response to this much-mocked answer he gave during a recent interview where he said Times Square was his favorite subway station:
Which member of his staff let Andrew Yang opine on the glories of the Times Square Subway Station to Ziwe? https://t.co/DucXnljezQ pic.twitter.com/uc9W0toImI
— Jezebel (@Jezebel) May 24, 2021
Also in that interview, he literally embraced Asian racial stereotypes that he thinks are okay. From New York magazine:
As for his “favorite racial stereotypes,” the former presidential candidate goes with “benign” clichés about Asian people he feels he can relate to, like being really into food, loving bubble tea, and having a love/fear relationship with your parents. Yang also doubles down on his call for more police in the subway, sidesteps Ziwe’s question about his “stance on apartheid” with regards to Palestine and Israel, and reminisces about Jeremy Lin–induced “Linsanity.”
The NY Daily News hit back, reminding Yang of his record:
A mayoral candidate who failed to vote in several local elections, decamped to upstate New York during the height of the COVID pandemic, and who recently named the Times Square subway station his favorite among all underground New York City stops — called a press conference Tuesday to complain about a satirical Daily News cartoon depicting him as a tourist.
And they said the cartoon “is not a racial stereotype or racist caricature”:
NY Daily News editor defends Yang cartoon: "This is not a racial stereotype or racist caricature" https://t.co/8AyXLhgoZ5 pic.twitter.com/GDuGa3tpKF
— The Hill (@thehill) May 25, 2021
This pivot from the math card to the race card comes with Yang now trailing badly in the polls:
Latest NYC mayor's race poll has Kathryn Garcia with her first lead of the contest:
Garcia: 21
Adams: 20
Yang: 16
Stringer: 10https://t.co/daWpauKYXf— David Freedlander (@freedlander) May 25, 2021
As for the tourist label, maybe Yang should stop acting like a tourist? This backlash to his candidacy has been building, and it’s from libs:
“He came across like he was a tourist in New York and said he wanted to visit a gay bar." @AndrewYang faces criticism after his interview seeking endorsement from LGBTQ political group, via @aeis17https://t.co/6DBNxmplBl
— katie honan (@katie_honan) April 22, 2021
Is comparing Yang to Michael Scott from “The Office” TV show racist, too?
andrew yang for mayor = michael scott visiting nyc pic.twitter.com/tLq6GYAyPr
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) May 11, 2021
Because this is something Yang’s own campaign has embraced:
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky” – Michael Scott pic.twitter.com/Iu9XFglnpg
— Yang for New York (@YangforNY) May 19, 2021
Or is it racist to criticize Yang when he doesn’t know basic NYC history?
I confess that when I think about the people of New York City the Dutch are not the first group that springs to mind.
— Andrew Yang🧢🗽🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) February 1, 2021
He’s been clueless for months and it’s just catching up to him:
When you've never heard of the Broncks. Or Haarlem https://t.co/fWPCaBfpRB
— Jessica?? (@jessicashortall) February 1, 2021
And who can forget his trip to that “bodega”?
I'm cringing so hard. Is this even a bodega? https://t.co/neertrbWUK
— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) January 15, 2021
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Related:
NYT article has Cynthia Nixon comparing Andrew Yang to the Fyre Festival https://t.co/CoSTDSUurl
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 2, 2021
Click for Politico's awful headline, stay for the realization that Andrew Yang appears to have lied in the interview https://t.co/oTe5ne2HA3
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 6, 2021
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