Texas Republicans try to blame black people for COVID outbreak

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Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, blamed black Texans for the recent increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations in the country.

“African Americans who have not been vaccinated” are “the largest group in most states” behind the new wave of coronavirus cases, Patrick said on a Fox News broadcast on Thursday evening with host Laura Ingraham. Patrick’s comments came after Ingraham asked the Texas official if he believed lax Republican policies were allowing the virus to spread.

“Democrats like to blame Republicans for this,” replied Patrick. “Well, the biggest group in most states is African Americans who haven’t been vaccinated. The last time I checked, over 90% of them vote Democrats in their big cities and major counties, so it’s up to Democrats, just like they are. to the Republicans, to try to vaccinate as many people as possible. “

Patrick then defended people’s choice not to be vaccinated, saying “it is their individual right”.

“[The Democrats] do nothing for the African American community which has a large and high number of unvaccinated people, ”added Patrick.

“TikTok videos. We have a lot of TikTok videos,” Ingrahm replied, removing all context.

The Lieutenant Governor’s comments immediately sparked contempt online, with many critics suggesting his comments were blatantly racist.

“The Lieutenant Governor’s statements are offensive and should not be ignored,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner wrote Thursday.

Political commentator Keith Olberman echoed, “Frankly: @DanPatrick is Orville Faubus or Lester Maddox of that era. Let him burn in hell for it.

“Lieutenant Governor @DanPatrick is a racist liar,” tweeted Dr. Jorge A. Caballero, clinical instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine. “We know that because [census] data shows that white Texans are responsible for twice as many cases as black Texans, and there are 3 unvaccinated White Texans for every 1 unvaccinated Black Texan. “

According to the Texas State Department Health Services, black residents of Lone Star State accounted for 16.4% of new cases in the state and only 10.2% of deaths as of August 13, as the the Washington Post noted. In fact, the highest case rates are seen in the state’s white and Hispanic populations, which account for 34.9% and 35.8% of all coronavirus cases in Texas, respectively.

Patrick’s comments come amid a period of heightened partisan conflict in the state, with the Republican leadership in Texas attempting to take control of policies regarding vaccine and mask mandates. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been particularly active on this front, fighting to ban mask warrants in school districts despite a sharp rise in COVID cases among children.

On Tuesday, Abbot announced that he himself contracted the disease on the same day Texas requested five additional mortuary trailers to accommodate an expected wave of deaths.

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