Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, a top surrogate for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in the South, sparked criticism at a rally at Morehouse College on Tuesday when he repeated a line he says a activist told him contending that a "uterus doesn't qualify you to be president."
Hillary Clinton's supporters quickly seized on the line to try to paint Sanders and his supporters as sexist. Clinton backer Brian Fallon told CNN Wednesday that it was the "latest in a series of instances when some of Sen. Sanders' top surrogates have made comments that, to say the least, are off script."
The rapper, whose real name is Michael Render, defended himself by tweeting that he backed other female politicians and was only repeating something that anti-racism activist Jane Elliott had told him.
"I wud gladly see Any one who can lead this country on behalf of the worker lead," he tweeted. "But i don't and never will Hate or think less of woman."
Here's the full quote of what he said:
"When people tell us ... 'Hold on Black Lives Matter, just wait a while.' And then she get good, she have your own momma sit down and say, 'Well, you're a woman.' But I talked to [anti-racism activist] Jane Elliott a few weeks ago, and Jane said: 'Michael, a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the United States. You have to be, you have to have policy that's reflective of social justice.' Paying woman a fair wage is social justice. Making sure that minorities have jobs is social justice."
He concluded his speech:
"Once you have a policy, it's time to look at everyone else and say, 'I like your dress, and I like your hair, Donald Trump. But enough is enough for me.' Enough of the political games for me. Enough of the bull***. We deserve better. We have Bernie Sanders as our next president."
Here's a video of that first riff (with an expletive at the end):
Here's some added commentary from Killer Mike:
And here's a glimpse at the criticism he is facing:
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