In an appearance Saturday on Fox News Channel, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), the House chief deputy whip, weighed in on the controversy involving Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) and his medical school yearbook, which included photos of individuals in blackface and one in a Klan robe.

Kildee was asked to react to a tweet posted by Northam before his 2017 Virginia gubernatorial election attacking his then-opponent Ed Gillespie.

VA is an inclusive and diverse community—we won't put up with Ed Gillespie's racist rhetoric and fearmongering. https://t.co/WjEnUPBkXS — Ralph Northam (@RalphNortham) October 11, 2017

“What it shows is when you have a standard, you have to live by it, and I think Governor Northam is coming to understand in ways he perhaps never imagined,” Kildee said. “I’m one of those that feel this is a disqualifying moment for him. I think it makes it very difficult for him to govern a state as diverse as Virginia.”

Kildee went on to dismiss the validity of Northam’s defense that he didn’t remember doing, saying that was not one that he should advance.

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