AP Photo Cuomo: Paladino's 'racist, ugly' comments on the Obamas embarrass New Yorkers

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo Friday denounced what he said were “racist” remarks made by Republican Party official Carl Paladino regarding President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

In a Friday article in Artvoice, the Buffalo developer, Buffalo school board member and former Republican gubernatorial candidate, said in 2017 he would like to see Obama “[catch] mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford.”


Answering what he would like to see go away in 2017, Paladino responded: “Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.”

Paladino, who has talked about running for governor in 2018, chaired President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign in New York.

Cuomo in a released statement said Paladino’s remarks were “racist, ugly and reprehensible.”

The Democratic governor continued saying, “Paladino has a long history of racist and incendiary comments. While most New Yorkers know Mr. Paladino is not to be taken seriously, as his erratic behavior defies any rational analysis and he has no credibility, his words are still jarring.”

Paladino in an emailed statement to the press said his comments had “nothing to do with race.”

“That’s the typical stance of the press when they can’t otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked,” he said. “It’s about [two] progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years.”

Cuomo said Paladino’s remarks, “do not reflect the sentiments or opinions of any real New Yorker,” adding that he has “embarrassed the good people of the state with his latest hate-filled rage.”

State Democratic Executive Director Basil Smikle in a statement also denounced Paladino’s comments, calling on every New York Republican leader including Trump, Chairman Ed Cox and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan to do the same.

“Paladino's despicable and racist 'wish list' is yet one more repugnant example of how out of step the Republican party's former standard bearer is with his fellow New Yorkers,” he said.

The Buffalo Parent-Teacher Organization Friday called on the state Education Department to remove Paladino from his position on the Buffalo schools Board of Education.

The PTO, in a statement, said his actions violate the board and school code of ethics and the state’s anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act.

“This hate speech represents exactly the type of rhetoric and intolerance we are teaching our children to resist,” according to the statement. The organization also encouraged other parents to write to the state demanding his removal.

Read the Artvoice article here: http://bit.ly/2iauXQh and Paladino’s letter to the press here: http://politi.co/2hkzbIf.