Congressional Candidate Carl Paladino Said Black Americans Are ‘Held Hungry and Dumb’ and ‘Conditioned’ to Vote for Democrats

New York Republican congressional candidate Carl Paladino told a radio host in late 2016 that Black Americans were kept “dumb and hungry” so they could be conditioned to only vote for the Democratic Party, saying, “You can’t teach them differently.”

Paladino, then a Buffalo school board member, was defending himself against allegations that previous comments he made were racist and said he cared about Black people, but they had been conditioned to be a base for the Democrats.

“I don’t think of myself in any way as a racist,” Paldino said on local Buffalo radio station WBEN, saying he fought for policies to help Black children while on the Buffalo School Board.

Paladino is running for the seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs, who said he would no longer seek reelection after saying he supported a federal ban on so-called assault weapons. He faces New York State Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy in the primary.

“Someday, somebody like a Donald Trump is gonna come in and force that stuff on them — OK. And maybe then, OK, we’ll get some change because the Black people deserve better,” he said discussing Buffalo schools. “They shouldn’t be held captive in our inner cities. They shouldn’t be held hungry and dumb so as to provide a base for the Democratic Party, that’s what’s been going on. You can’t teach them differently because they’ve been so conditioned to think that way. And that is so, so wrong. And I’ll fight for that stuff until the day I die.”

In a statement to CNN, Paladino said CNN had taken his words out of context.

“It is not surprising that CNN is once again taking my comments out of context from years ago. Democrats policies have failed black voters and taken them for granted which is why Republicans have a historic opportunity to win huge this November,” Paladino said. “I am proud of the work I did for Buffalo Schools, turning around an underperforming district, and investing resources in predominately African American areas.”

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