2020 Democrat Andrew Yang Refuses To Stop Telling Asian Jokes Despite Criticism from Left
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is already unique among the field of 2020 Democratic candidates for president.
He’s famously refused to wear a tie to primary debates, his entire campaign is built on the premise of giving every American adult $1,000 a month and he even crowd-surfed at a recent campaign event.
But the thing that sets Yang apart the most may just be his unwillingness to accept the dogma of political correctness that animates his Democratic opponents.
Yang has embraced his Taiwanese-American heritage and joked about Asian-American stereotypes during his run, saying on several occasions that “the opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math.”
The long-shot candidate made perhaps his boldest racial comment yet during the Democratic primary debate earlier this month.
“Now, I am Asian, so I know a lot of doctors,” he said while answering a question about health care, according to Politico.
While the comment offended some on the left, Yang is not backing down.
“We’re a very diverse community, and if Asian-Americans disagree with my response to a particular issue, or a joke I tell, that’s something I would expect and accept,” he told Politico on Wednesday.
“I don’t see any reason to dramatically change anything I’ve been doing to date,” he said, “and I think that the vast majority of the Asian-Americans I encounter seem very excited about my campaign.”
Yang is also trying to market that excitement with some of his more memorable slogans. His campaign website offers T-shirts, baseball caps and apparel with the simple word “math” in all capitals.
This isn’t the first time Yang has broken with his fellow candidates on the topic of racial comments.
When a video surfaced earlier this month of (since-fired) “Saturday Night Live” comedian Shane Gillis using derogatory terms for Asian people (including Yang himself), the Democratic candidate jumped to Gillis’ defense.
For the record, I do not think he should lose his job. We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human.
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) September 14, 2019
“I do not think he should lose his job,” Yang wrote. “We would benefit from being more forgiving rather than punitive. We are all human.”
Yang added in a follow-up tweet that he had been called racial slurs before and knew how “extraordinarily hurtful” they could be.
I think we have, as a society, become excessively punitive and vindictive concerning people’s statements and expressions we disagree with or find offensive. I don’t think people should be losing jobs unless it’s truly beyond the pale and egregious.
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) September 15, 2019
“I think we have, as a society, become excessively punitive and vindictive concerning people’s statements and expressions we disagree with or find offensive,” Yang continued.
“I don’t think people should be losing jobs unless it’s truly beyond the pale and egregious.”
While Yang’s jocular nature and candid remarks may be endearing to his die-hard supporters, who collectively refer to themselves as the “Yang Gang,” the entrepreneur’s comments have brought rebuke from left-wing pundits and publications.
If his Wednesday comments are any indication, however, that won’t stop Yang from keeping the jokes coming.
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