A conservative parody website’s joke about former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sparked backlash on social media, with people calling it “racist.”
After Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, announced Monday he was dropping out of the 2024 race, The Babylon Bee posted an edited photo of the businessman in a 7-Eleven uniform in front of the convenience store on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday and wrote: “Trump Promises Vivek An Administration Position Running The White House 7-Eleven.”
People on social media found the post offensive, with some calling it racist.
Joash Thomas, the national director of mobilization and advocacy for International Justice Mission Canada, wrote: “The last time I called out the Bee for anti-Asian racism, I got disinvited from a speaking engagement. So let me be clear this time: this is incredibly racist and in poor taste.”
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“Um, I’m not woke, but that’s pretty racist. Too far,” posted X user @KMurphinho.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump thought that the Babylon Bee should retract the post.
“I’m 100% Trump and think Babylon Bee is a national treasure, but this one is just stupid. You can and should do better. A public retraction seems appropriate here, but I’ll still look forward to your stuff,” X user @JLM_Poiseuille wrote.
Babylon Bee Editor-in-Chief Kyle Mann doubled down amid the backlash, jokingly commenting on the Babylon Bee’s post: “Take this down.”
Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh thought the backlash the Babylon Bee was receiving was “pathetic” and promised that Ramaswamy was not offended.
“Check the comments to see ‘conservatives’ actually offended by this joke. Absolutely pathetic. I guarantee @VivekGRamaswamy is not in the slightest bit offended. You guys really dont need to be his white knight to protect him from Babylon Bee headlines. He’ll be okay. I promise.”
Ramaswamy shared Walsh’s post and jokingly wrote: “I’m a ‘survivor.'”
Newsweek reached out to Ramaswamy’s campaign via email for comment.
After Ramaswamy finished in fourth place in the Iowa Republican caucus on Monday, he endorsed Trump, the GOP front-runner who won the caucus with 51 percent support.
“This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want,” Ramaswamy wrote on X.
“Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J. Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next U.S. President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.