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Blake Masters, the Republican nominee vying for a Senate seat in Arizona, appeared to suggest on Twitter that the increase of diversity in the Federal Reserve is to blame for the current state of the U.S. economy.
Masters, a Trump-backed candidate, seemingly linked “Black, female, and gay officials” with high inflation and other economic woes in a sarcastic tweet that is making waves on the internet.
“Finally, a compelling explanation for why our economy is doing so well,” Masters tweeted on Sunday (August 28) alongside an Associated Press article headlined “Fed tackles inflation with its most diverse leadership ever.”
The article noted that “there are more female, Black, and gay officials contributing to the central bank’s interest-rate decisions than at any time in its 109-year history.”
On Monday (August 29), Masters posted a video on Twitter defending his stance.
“I don’t care if every single employee at the Fed is a Black lesbian as long as they’re hired for their competence and not because of what they look like or who they sleep with,” Masters said. “News for Joe Biden: We are done with this affirmative action regime.”
Speaking about affirmative action, the GOP Senate candidate added, “I can’t think of a single policy since the end of Jim Crow that’s been worse or more divisive for race relations in this country.”
This isn’t the first time Masters has caught heat for controversial remarks, as he seeks to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
In a podcast appearance earlier this year, Masters said “Black people, frankly” were to blame for the nation’s ongoing gun violence problem.
Masters also slammed Vice President Kamala Harris in his video on Monday, saying she was “so incompetent she can’t even get a sentence out.”
“There’s such a thing as fairness. We’re going to end this unfair and incompetent affirmative action regime,” Masters added.
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