Local GOP chair resigns after ' Daily Show' interview where he said 'lazy black people' want the 'government to give them everything'

North Carolina Buncombe County Republican chair Don Yelton has resigned after his 'Daily Show' interview

The interview, aired Wednesday, was about the new voter ID law which the Justice Department claims is intended to limit minority voters



Yelton made several racist comments in the interview and said that if the law prevents 'lazy blacks who want the government to give them everything' from voting, 'so be it'

The GOP distanced itself from Yelton and called for his resignation

A North Carolina county precinct Republican chair has resigned after a controversial interview that aired on 'The Daily Show' Wednesday night.

A spokesman for the Buncombe County Republican Party confirmed that the resignation was directly related to the interview, in which Yelton said, among other things, 'lazy black people' want 'the government to give them everything.'

Interviewer Aasif Mandvi interviewed Yelton about North Carolina's new voter ID law, which has been contested by the Justice Department.



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Cringeworthy: Republican Don Yelton made comments to Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi that prompted the latter to remark, 'You know we can hear you, right?'

The state contends that the law, which requires voters to show certain specified forms of photo ID in order to be allowed to vote, is intended to limit minority voters.

Yelton demurred, saying the law would prevent voter fraud, a crime committed, by his own admission, by possibly one or two people per year.

'The bottom line is, the law is not racist,' stated Yelton.

'Of course the law is not racist. And you're not racist,' suggests Mandvi, a statement which is greeted by a long pause from Yelton.

'Well,' he says. 'I have been called a bigot before.'

Resigned: North Carolina county precinct GOP chair Yelton resigned on Thursday after the offensive interview aired

He goes on to tell Mandvi that in fact, one of his best friends is black.

The segment then becomes a montage of cringe-worthy statements from Yelton, including:

'When I was a young man, you didn't call a black a black, you called him a negro.'

'I had a picture one time of Obama sitting on a stump as a witch doctor, I posted that one Facebook... I was making fun of the white half of Obama, not the black half.'

'And now, you have a black person using the term, 'n***** this, n****** that,' and it's OK for them to do it.'

This last comment prompts Mandvi to ask Yelton, 'You know we can hear you, right?'

Yelton goes on to explain that in fact, the voter ID law in North Carolina would affect mostly Democrat voters, effectively admitting that the law suppresses Democrat votes.

'If it hurts the whites, so be it,' he says. 'If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it.'

Yelton's Facebook feed is equally unbecoming to a person in the public eye, proving he's never been one to mince his words - or even spell them correctly.

Facebook faux pas: Yelton's Facebook feed is as uncensored as his Daily Show interview

Pushed out: The GOP says it does not support Yelton's views or comments

According to Business Insider, the Buncombe County GOP said in a statement that Yelton was 'recently reprimanded and removed from his position as a precinct chair.'

He had been re-elected to the position at the 2013 convention by a margin of two votes - his own and his wife's.

'Mr Yelton's comments are offensive, uniformed, and unacceptable of any member within the Republican Party,' the statement read.



'In no way are his comments representative of the local or state Republican Party.'

