One politician in a southern state is causing an uproar after going on a recorded video rant where he complained about Democrats, “queer” presidential candidates, along with the alarming loss of white men’s rights.
A commissioner in Sevier County, Tennessee, Warren Hurst, made offensive comments during a debate while local leaders were discussing whether their city should become a “gun sanctuary city.” Filmed by WVLT-TV, the rant began with the commissioner urging people to “wake up.”
The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, is one of the Democratic candidates in the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s time we wake up people, it’s time, it’s past time,” Hurst said.
His comments were met with applause by most, with just one woman standing up and leaving.
“We got a queer running for president if that ain’t about as ugly as you can get,” Hurst stated in the meeting. “Look what we got running for president in the Democratic Party. We can go over here to [the Sevier County jail] and get better people out of there.”
And if elected, he would be the first openly gay man to serve as president. While Hurst did not mention Buttigieg’s name specifically, moving his focus to other topics, he did explain the loss of rights for white men in America.
“I’m not prejudiced, but by golly, a white male in this country has very few rights and they’re getting took more every day,” Hurst said.
The commissioner has received severe backlash from other local politicians as well as rights group. A statewide LGBTQ rights coalition, The Tennessee Equality Project, called for this resignation.
“He should apologize and, yes, he should consider resigning,” a representative for the organization shared with WVLT-TV.
“If there were some weird extenuating circumstances like he was having a medical issue, but, right now, it just looks like he made those remarks.”
The City of Sevierville also condemned Hurst’s remarks, saying they produced “rightful indignation” both locally and beyond.
In addition, the City of Sevierville condemned Hurst’s damaging remarks.
“Although Sevier County government is separate from Sevierville City government, we realize that these remarks still impact all of us living and working in this area,” the city revealed in a statement.
The county government quickly expressed its own disagreement, revealing how the commissioner’s remarks do not in any way effects its views.
“Sevier County… does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or status in any other group protected by law,” the county’s tweets read.