While our own election ads might be a sorry stream of criticism and snarky comments, at least we haven’t descended into total racism just yet. Independent US political candidate, Rick Tyler, has big dreams of representing Tennessee in the House of Representatives, and in a homage to his idol Donald Trump, he created a campaign of his own.
Taking Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan, Tyler twisted the words slightly, with his billboard reading ‘Make America White Again’.
Naturally, there’s been a spate of backlash and outrage over the campaign billboard, with Tyler being labelled both a racist and a bigot.
It was subsequently pulled down on Tuesday night, but not before Tyler claimed he “had no ill will towards people of colour”, but that the sign was merely meant to incite a warm nostalgia, not hatred.
The sign was meant to convey the message that America should go back to a “1960s, ‘Ozzie and Harriet,’ ‘Leave it to Beaver’ time, when there were no break-ins; no violent crime; no mass immigration,” Tyler told NBC News affiliate WRCB.
Nonetheless, Tyler shares some interesting views on race overall, with his website giving a solid nod to Trump’s stance on racial issues.
“His advocacy of a ‘temporary ban’ on Muslim immigration and the construction of a wall on the Southern border,” Tyler wrote on his website, “have created a climate conducive to conversation relative to the elephant in the living room no one wants to talk about … namely, the urgent and vital subject of race.”
Make America White Again is trending… FFS ppl. pic.twitter.com/GEJr4SygiF
— TheFOO (@PolitiBunny) June 22, 2016
@MrHenningSon @laurenduca I don’t know…WhitePrideRadio.com in huge letters is pretty bold pic.twitter.com/OKb7UNz1sl
— Caleb Hennington (@MrHenningSon) June 22, 2016
