Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Sunday repeated his call for the commonwealth’s current governor, Ralph Northam, to resign in light of revelations about Northam wearing blackface in the past.
On Friday, a photo from Northam’s medical school yearbook page emerged showing two men, one in blackface and another in a KKK hood. After initially saying he appeared in the photo, Northam changed course in a press conference Saturday and said he wasn’t in the photo, but that he had worn blackface on another occasion.
“Once that picture with the blackface and the klansman came out, there was no way you can continue to be the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” McAuliffe told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview Sunday.
Northam served as lieutenant governor during McAuliffe’s governorship before being elected governor himself. On Friday, McAuliffe tweeted that Northam should resign.
The situation that he has put himself and the Commonwealth of Virginia in is untenable. It's time for Ralph to step down, and for the Commonwealth to move forward.
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) February 2, 2019
The former governor expressed confusion Sunday regarding Northam’s shifting statements on the photo.
“Instinctively, you know if you put black paint on your face,” he said. “You know if you put a hood on. And so if it isn’t you, you come out immediately and say, ‘This is not me.'”
McAuliffe also predicted Northam would step down.
“If Ralph is watching this today, I know how much he loves this Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said. “And you’ve got to make the right decision. You’ve got to make the right moral decision. We have to bring people together.”
watch below
McAuliffe: "Instinctively, you know if you put black paint on your face. You know if you put a hood on. And so if it isn't you, you come out immediately and say, 'This is not me.'" pic.twitter.com/UhMORSRUAp
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 3, 2019
