Cori Bush called a racist after saying the GOP was using the black representative as a prop.

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Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and supporters on the U.S. Capitol in 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Jose Luis Magana AP Washington

Republicans slammed Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush on Thursday after the St. Louis Democrat said a black Republican was being used as a prop.

On Wednesday, a faction of conservative Republicans nominated Florida Representative Byron Donalds in their effort to prevent House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy from winning the presidency. Bush chastised far-right Republicans after describing Donald’s nomination as historic.

The next day, North Carolina Republican Representative Dan Bishop accused Bush, one of two black lawmakers representing Missouri in the House, of racism.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Mr. Donalds, especially lately, Bishop said. It is not an accessory. And if he was a prop, he wouldn’t be sitting where he is. It’s the tired, old-fashioned, grotesquely racist rhetoric we’ve seen for far too long.

The comment comes as tensions between Democrats, Republicans and the faction of Republicans opposing McCarthy have escalated with each subsequent deadlocked vote for president.

Over the course of three days, the votes remained largely the same, with 21 Republicans opposing McCarthy as president. On Thursday, when the House held its seventh vote, no candidate garnered the 218 votes needed to win the presidency.

Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries has the support of 212 Democrats, while the Republican vote was split with 201 votes for McCarthy, 19 for Donald and one for former President Donald Trump. A House Republican voted present.

Jeffries is the first black lawmaker named to serve as a speaker. Donalds, who is entering his second term in the House, became his second when far-right Republicans offered him as an alternative to McCarthy on the second day of voting.

Donalds supporters called it a historic moment, prompting denunciation of Bush, whose political career followed his involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement.

[Donalds] is not a historic presidential candidate, Bush said on Twitter Wednesday. It’s an accessory. Although he is black, he supports a political agenda to maintain and perpetuate white supremacy. His name being in the mix is ​​not progressing, it’s pathetic.

Bush’s tweet came after Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy invoked civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in his Donalds nomination speech on Wednesday.

However, we don’t seek to judge people on the color of their skin, but rather on the content of their character, Roy said.

The comment sparked an audible groan from Democrats seated across the room. A few stood up to applaud, with one member shaking his head as he clapped.

After Bishop denounced Bush on the floor, she doubled down on her comments. On Twitter, she commented on an interview with Fox Business, saying he didn’t support the black community.

Working to overturn the 2020 election and embrace fascism Trump MAGA, it’s not you who ride, Byron, Bush wrote. You are used. It helps you politically at the expense of our community. What a shame. It is clear which party is promoting white supremacist chaos and which is working against it.

Daniel Desrochers covers Washington, DC for the Kansas City Star. He previously covered politics and government for the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky and the Charleston Gazette-Mail in Charleston, West Virginia.

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