On Tuesday, four days after the release of a recording featuring Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments, Utah state Rep. David Lifferth (R) took to his Twitter account with something to say.
“We should have known Don Sterling was a racist when he gave money to National Association for Advancement of Colored People,” Lifferth said, in apparent reference to Sterling’s ties to the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP.
We should have known Don Sterling was a racist when he gave money to National Association for Advancement of Colored People #utpol
— David Lifferth (@DavidLifferth) April 29, 2014
In a subsequent tweet, Lifferth expanded on his thoughts.
“Yes, any group that tries to advance specific people based of their race is by definition racist,” he wrote.
@UGottaLovItBaby @da_breezman @NAACP Yes, any group that tries to advance specific people based of their race is by definition racist #utpol
— David Lifferth (@DavidLifferth) April 29, 2014
Lifferth’s comments were met with silence from more powerful politicians in Utah, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. But Jeanetta Williams, the president of the Salt Lake Chapter of the NAACP, told the Tribune that Lifferth’s comment “shows his ignorance of the history of the NAACP.”
Lifferth, who last year described himself as a “hero of the civil rights movement,” also described himself as “anti-bigot” and “anti-racist” on Twitter this week. On Thursday, Lifferth posted a number of emails both supportive and critical of his statements on his personal website.
Lifferth did not immediately return a request for comment from TPM on Thursday.
