Sen. Joe Donnelly says he has black and Indian American staffers, ‘but’ they’re terrific

[mystery-ak]

By Colby Itkowitz
October 31 at 12:30 PM

Sen. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), a conservative Democrat in one of the tightest reelection battles in the country, made a cringeworthy and puzzling statement about some minorities on his staff during a debate Tuesday night.

To begin, here’s a quick vocab refresher. The definition of the word “but,” according to Google, is “to introduce something contrasting with what has already been mentioned."

So it was strange when Donnelly, in what seemed like a genuine effort to compliment his aides, said this when asked how he would bring diversity into his staffing:

“Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job. Our director of all constituent services, she’s African American, but she does an even more incredible job than you could ever imagine.”

Mr. Senator, but, what?

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/31/sen-donnelly-says-he-has-black-indian-american-staffers-theyre-terrific/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.de5a1a628df8

[sneakypete]

“Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job. Our director of all constituent services, she’s African American, but she does an even more incredible job than you could ever imagine.”

That was awful white of him.