Former House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) is refusing to apologize for using an anti-Asian racial slur during a recent cable news appearance, defending his remarks as "satire."
Rep. Peter King defends using Japanese slur in describing his anti-Trump views
In an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Friday, King used the term "Japs" while criticizing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's "uninformed" views on foreign policy, likening the candidate to a hypothetical "guy at the end of the bar."
King highlighted his opposition to Trump's proposal to pull U.S. troops out of Japan and South Korea and instead equip them with nuclear weapons as a deterrent against China and North Korea.
"There's real issues with him, real problems with his views," King said of Trump. "I don't know if he's thought them through, or if it's like the guy at the end of the bar that says, 'Oh screw them, bomb them, kill them, pull out, bring them home. You know, why pay for the Japs, why pay for the Koreans."
In case you didn't know, "Jap" is a derogatory term for people of Japanese descent, popularized during and after World War II. Rep. King appears to be aware of this fact, but has no problem using it anyway.
Later, in an interview with The Hill, King refused to apologize, saying people are "too politically correct." He defended his use of the slur -- then uttered the slur again -- blaming it on that darn guy at the end of the bar.
"I stand by the merits of what I said. I was quoting the guy at the end of the bar who needlessly offends, who makes snaps decisions and doesn't care, who suddenly says, 'The hell with them, the Japs and Koreans," King told The Hill. "I was using it to make a point, and I would make it again."
"If someone wants to say, 'The mick at the end of the bar,' I wouldn't be offended by it."
I think the congressman needs to start hanging out at a different bar.
"Mr. King knows his words have an impact," Rep. Judy Chu, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told The Hill. "Using the J word is disgusting and harkens back to a shameful time in our history when violence, xenophobia, and the internment of Japanese Americans were everyday phenomena."
"As an elected official, he has a responsibility not to repeat such divisive, offensive terms," Christopher Kang, national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, told The Huffington Post. "He can still stand by the merits of his statement without needlessly offending others."
King claims to have been satirizing bias and ignorance, but he could have easily made his point without using the slur -- and then doubling down to repeat it again. You don't get to throw around an offensive, derogatory term and then hide behind it as the words of some fictional guy at the end of the bar. That's bullshit.
More here: Really? Congressman Peter King Uses Anti-Asian Slur On TV