Joe Mitchell, a Republican candidate for Congress in Iowa who is backed by President Donald Trump, was filmed in college making controversial remarks about Black women, race and his manhood.
Mitchell, 29, is running in Iowa’s competitive 2nd Congressional District with the backing of President Donald Trump.
The controversy comes as Mitchell campaigns for Congress and recently presented Trump with a self-created “Man of the Century Award” at a rally in Iowa.
Who is Joe Mitchell
Mitchell is 29 years old. He is running in Iowa’s 2nd District with backing from Trump and Turning Point Action.
As per the Daily Mail, Mitchell became the youngest-ever state lawmaker when he was elected in 2018 at age 20, while still at Drake University. He founded Run GenZ, a national nonprofit that aims to get young conservatives to run for office. He has also been a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics and briefly served in two roles in the second Trump administration. One of them was the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Great Plains regional administrator. He also runs a real estate development firm.
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What the video shows
The Daily Mail says it obtained a video from a woman who was friends with Mitchell in college. She was not in the room when it was recorded. She dated it to 2017, when Mitchell was 19.
According to the Daily Mail, the video shows Mitchell crying about the size of his body parts and talking about “black women.” He also says he wants a relationship with a black woman he liked at the time. “I want to marry one,” Mitchell said of black women, as per the video.
In response to one question he said, “I want my kids to not be white, ok?” He also said he does not like white people and asked why people think he hangs out with people who are not white.
Mitchell is also seen challenging the people questioning him to a contest about their bodies. “You guys are the racist ones,” he says in the video.
Here is the video:
Snapchat screenshots
According to the Daily Mail, two Snapchat screenshots appear to show Mitchell talking about his own “alcohol violations” in college. In one post, he boasted about getting “2 alcohol violations in a week.”
In another, he wrote that he was “taking lots of xanx tonight,” adding “and no one will stop me.”
What Mitchell and his campaign said
As per the Daily Mail, an attorney for the campaign did not dispute that the video is real. The attorney instead accused “political foes” of trying to hurt his campaign. The attorney also rejected “false accusations” that he was known for being “ridiculous.”
In a statement, Mitchell said he has “grown up.” “My entire generation has had a camera in their face since we were born. I was 19, in college, and I have grown up,” said Mitchell.
“Since graduating college, I found some better friends, launched my own small business, launched a nonprofit, and built countless affordable homes all over Northeast Iowa. I achieved the American Dream, and I’m running for Congress so every American can reach their full potential.”
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Mitchell’s ‘Man of the Century Award’ for Trump
As per People, Trump, 80, was joined by Mitchell at his rally in Sioux City, Iowa. Mitchell gave the president a certificate in a gold frame called the “Man of the Century Award,” an honor Mitchell made up.
“I wanted to say, Mr President, for the last 10 years, you kept this country more safe than any other president, ever,” Mitchell said at the rally, as per The Independent. “And they’ve never given you the Nobel Peace Prize, by the way, which is a disgrace.”
“So, what I came up with, Mr President, is the new award,” the candidate added. “It’s called the ‘Man of the Century Award.’ ”
Mitchell asked the “artificial media” to get a good shot of the certificate. He also claimed Trump “has more for humanity and for America than any other president ever.”