A North Carolina Republican has prompted media criticism after calling for the execution of senior Democrats. Michele Morrow, who is running for the position of superintendent of public schools, tweeted a doctored image showing former President Barack Obama in an electric chair, together with the caption, “Kill All Traitors.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper called out Morrow for her controversial remarks and was joined by fellow reporter Andrew Kaczynski, who noted that it was not the first time Morrow appeared to advocate Obama’s death. Kaczynski pointed to a tweet Morrow posted in 2020 responding to suggestions that Obama should be detained in Guantanamo Bay. She wrote that she would prefer to see him executed by firing squad because she didn’t want to “waste another dime on supporting his life.”
Writing for MSNBC, Steve Benen said that North Carolina’s ballot papers feature a growing number of “GOP radicals.” He noted that Morrow refers to the Tar Heel State’s school as socialist indoctrination centers and advocates homeschooling and the abolition of the Board of Education.
Benen also described Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the current GOP gubernatorial candidate, as an “extraordinarily radical voice.” He accuses Robinson of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, as well as condemning LGBT individuals as “filth.” This followed the publication of a video of Mr. Robinson speaking at the Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove in 2021. During the speech, Mr. Robinson unapologetically repeated the word “filth” and later refused to back down, saying, “We will not change our language.”
Robinson had previously come under fire for advocating a nationwide abortion ban without exceptions, accusing women of wearing “whore dresses to protest sexual harassment,” and calling Michelle Obama a man.
The New York Times reports that Democrats see the candidacy of Morrow and Robinson as an opportunity to make inroads in North Carolina, which hasn’t elected a Democrat candidate since 2008. The Biden Presidential campaign is reportedly spending ad money in the Tar Heel State on that basis.
