The Trump-endorsed and Peter Thiel-funded MAGA candidate J.D. Vance won the Republican primary in Ohio over what were considered more electable candidates. The same dynamic may be forming in Arizona where a young tech Thiel protege, BitCoin believer, and all-around “weirdo,” Blake Masters, is attempting the same charge to the finish as Vance, to capture the Arizona primary for the U.S. Senate. If successful, Masters would go up against former astronaut and hall of fame husband Sen. Mark Kelly.
As one would expect from a Trump-Thiel candidate, Masters is uber MAGA and thus flirts with racism. But Masters made a shocking statement in an April 11 interview on the Jeff Oravits Show podcast (An interview dug up today in the Daily Beast), in which Masters laid the gun problem in the United States at the feet of “black people.”
“It’s people in Chicago, St. Louis shooting each other. Very often, you know, Black people, frankly. And the Democrats don’t want to do anything about that…”
Wrong. Democrats recognize the damage wrought by guns in all facets of society. Given that “black people” are one of, if not the largest, voting blocks in the Democratic party, it is a critical concern that Democrats desperately want to “do something about that.” Of course, Masters did not note that the largest block of gun buyers in this country are conservative white males. That makes conservative white men a large part of the gun problem in America, which includes suicides, domestic violence, and nearly every mass shooting. The gun problem goes unaddressed exclusively because of white Republicans.
Master’s proudly racist statement is rooted in the fact that Trump has given tacit permission to his followers to air their prejudices, especially racism as openly as they want.
Masters had more ridiculous assertions:
“…When they ban ‘ghost guns’ and pistol braces, that’s all about disarming law-abiding people, like you and me, that’s what it’s about,” Masters said, referencing government efforts to crack down on the surge in privately made, untraceable firearms. “They care that we can’t have guns to defend ourselves.”
Wrong again. A “ghost gun” kills every bit as effectively as a serial numbered gun and thus any regulations put in place to protect society, regulations that the vast majority of Americans want, would be rendered entirely ineffective by a gun that, like Ikea furniture, requires some simple assembly.
“They talk about crime but I find it crocodile tears,” Masters said, an apparent reference to Democratic outrage over an unending drumroll of domestic massacres. “Because if they were actually tough on crime they would get serious about gang violence.” (Masters himself did not put forward a solution to gang violence in the interview.)
The interview was done prior to Buffalo and Uvalde but that doesn’t mean that the tears weren’t just as real after Sandy Hook, Parkland, the Pulse Nightclub, Las Vegas, and all the other assault rifle mass shootings that we don’t have space to lay out (El Paso…). The random assault rifle mass shootings, especially school shootings and public mall shootings are an almost exclusively “white problem” and Masters knows it.
He also knows that Democrats abhor the entirety of gun violence in America in addition to the Republicans’ shocking lack of interest or urgency. He simply saw an opportunity to lay out express and open racism. He’s a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Candidates carefully only say things they believe will help them get elected. Apparently, the MAGA movement has evolved to the point that some believe the proudly racist element has to be even more open with even greater clarity.
Jason Miciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, while also studying scientific philosophy, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.