MSNBC commentator Jason Johnson said retired Army Col. Allen West provided Republicans with “all-natural flavor racism” and “blackface with a 1990s flat-top haircut.”
Johnson joined Monday’s “The Reidout” with host Joy Reid and argued that West, who is running for governor in Texas, was the perfect representation of “the zeitgeist of the Republican Party.” (RELATED: Greg Abbott’s GOP Challenger Hospitalized With COVID-19)
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Reid began the segment by claiming that West was so far to the right that he was “basically to the right of Atilla the Hun. He’s the guy that mock-executed an Iraqi policeman and got in trouble in the Army.”
Reid also said that West had claimed Islam was not a religion and suggested the black community was “better off” in terms of having a strong family structure and more education opportunities when the United States was still under segregation.
“You know, look, speaking of educational opportunities. One of the other crimes we’ve seen in the state of Texas is this book banning they have where they’re chasing after books and don’t want kids to learn about critical race theory,” Johnson began before turning his attention to West. (RELATED: MSNBC Guest: Trump Is ‘Is Half A Rally Away’ From ‘Using The N-Word’)
“Allen West, he is the zeitgeist of the Republican Party right now. They want that same kind of — they want that sort of all-natural flavor racism, but they want it in blackface with a 1990s flat-top haircut. That’s what they want, and they can get that out of Allen West if he can actually get out of bed and hopefully realize he could actually catch COVID again because the magical antibodies that he thinks he has now will not keep him any safer if he continues to run around and grab-hand the way that he is,” Johnson continued.
West had announced over the weekend that he tested positive for COVID-10, had developed pneumonia and was briefly hospitalized over concern about his oxygen saturation levels. He announced Monday that he was home and waiting for a negative test before returning to the campaign trail. West was a U.S. congressman for the state of Florida from 2011 to 2013 and the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas for a year starting in July 2020.
Back at home with a special message for you: https://t.co/6lSfpvkMqx
— Allen West (@AllenWest) October 12, 2021
“There’s so many other protocols out there that we should be recommending to people. This should not be about forcing people to take a certain shot,” he said, adding, “God bless you all. Thank you so very much again for all your thoughts, your prayers, and well-wishes. It’s great to be back home. And I just want to let you know, do not fear COVID.”