Rep. Eric Swalwell, California Democrat, pledged to run with a female vice president candidate if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination, admitting what many have long suspected by declaring, “I’m a white man.”
“SPOILER ALERT: I’m a white man,” he tweeted late Tuesday. “I know where I can’t speak to someone else’s experience, and I pledge to (1) Pass the mic (2) Ask a woman to serve as VP.”
He linked to a clip from his Tuesday appearance with MSNBC’s Joy Reid, telling her, “I don’t think anyone’s identity should hold them back, but I think the next president should see all races, all identities.”
“I’ve pledged that I would ask a woman to serve as vice president,” he said. “I would put forward a diverse candidate, and I would put forward policies that would make sure that inherent bias that exists, or discrimination that exists in communities, would be eliminated.”
SPOILER ALERT: I’m a white man.
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) April 24, 2019
I know where I can’t speak to someone else’s experience and I pledge to:
1️⃣ Pass the mic
2️⃣ Ask a woman to serve as VP pic.twitter.com/yz7hUB3bRA
Mr. Swalwell’s announcement came as the white men seeking the Democratic presidential nomination wrestle with the implications of running against female and minority candidates in a party dominated by identity politics.
Polls show two straight white men — former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Sen. Bernard Sanders — leading the packed field of prospective nominees despite their lack of diversity.
Another white guy, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, has also said he would prefer to choose a female vice president candidate if nominated, while Mr. Sanders told leftist media outlet The Young Turks he would consider someone “who is maybe not of the same gender that I am.”
Mr. Swalwell’s declaration of his obvious whiteness met with plenty of ribbing.
Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher said the congressman “stunned the political world by coming out as a white man on Twitter, making him just the ninth openly white male candidate to enter the fray.”
Tweeted Stephen Miller: “I’m a white man who recognizes I have privilege. That is why I will ask a woman to be my subservient number 2 position.”
BREAKING: Democratic Presidential Candidate Eric Swalwell Announces ’I’m a White Man’ https://t.co/vArpOHj4DB pic.twitter.com/qvLRdltoZH
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 24, 2019
I’m a white man who recognizes I have privilege. That is why I will ask a woman to be my subservient number 2 position. https://t.co/oWxVmGE6hP
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) April 24, 2019
The four-term congressman from California’s East Bay announced his long-shot presidential bid April 8 on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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