Senior Democrats call on scandal-hit Virginia governor to step down
Congressional Democrats have urged Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to step down in the face of a scandal arising from a racist graduation photo shoot.
The scandal broke after Northam admitted that he was the person in the photo wearing a blackface makeup standing next to another person donning a Ku Klux Klan costume during a 1984 graduation party.
The situation only compounded earlier this week after Northam went back on the admission, prompting the party’s senior members to line up against him on Sunday.
"He is being completely dishonest and disingenuous," Democratic US Representative Karen Bass said on the NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I think given the overall climate around race in this country, especially over the last two years, it's completely unacceptable," added Bass, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.
Although denying being in the picture, Northam has admitted wearing the makeup, which is derisive of the black people, in the past and has even called it commonplace in 1984, when the picture was taken. Bass also took issue with the latter claim.
Donald McEachin, a black House of Representative member from Virginia, who was likewise speaking to the NBC, echoed her, saying, "So I was really surprised when the next day he comes out and says it's not him." "That was quite a surprise to me," he added.
Northam’s predecessor Terry McAuliffe has also called him to resign in the face of the controversy.
"And if Ralph is watching this today, I know how much he loves this Commonwealth of Virginia. And you have got to make the right decision. You have got to make the right moral decision," he said on the CNN's "State of the Union."
Other Democratic notables calling on Northam to step down include former US vice president Joe Biden and 2020 presidential aspirant Senator Kamala Harris.
The party, which is still reeling from its shock defeat to Republican nominee Donald Trump, is shoring up its offensives through various means, including by trying to steer clear of controversy.
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