Blinding whiteness of ‘party of diversity’ spawns #DemDebateSoWhite hashtag

Amid a chorus of Orange Man Bad echoing from the Democratic debate stage, another color was on some voters’ minds as Twitter gadflies highlighted the absurdity of 10 white candidates fighting over who’d best represent minorities.

Critics of the achingly PC identity-politics wing of the Democratic Party could hardly believe their luck as the first night of round two of the Democratic primary debates kicked off without a single nonwhite candidate on stage (despite three remaining in the race). A graphic calling out the melanin-challenged slate was soon spreading across social media behind the hashtag #DemDebateSoWhite.

“Remember every one of them calls the president a racist, as they stand on stage without one black person in sight,” one user tweeted. Another slammed the Democrats’ hypocrisy, pointing out that if 10 white Republicans had shared the stage, an equivalent hashtag would be #1 on Twitter. 

Others hinted at foul play in the candidate selection process. “Can someone run the odds of CNN drawing an all white debate with 3 POC running out of 20?” one user tweeted. “No one considered the optics on this?” another marveled. More than one user found it hard to believe that with the most ethnically-diverse slate of candidates in US history, CNN couldn’t break up the monopoly of hue a bit. 

The irony of moderators asking a slate of blindingly white candidates what they’re going to do to fight white supremacy was not lost on anyone, though the #Resistance largely refused to acknowledge the hashtag or the reality behind its existence.

Most, however, settled for cracking jokes during what promised to be a long, dull debate. “The only ‘woman of color’ up there identifies as an American Indian,” one user pointed out, referring to Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Another likened the debate stage to “a lot of unseasoned chicken.” 

Like this story? Share it with a friend!