State Rep. Craig C. Fishbein apologized on Monday for retweeting a racist meme.
Fishbein, a Republican from Wallingford and vice-chairman of the General Assembly’s conservative caucus, shared a tweet Saturday with a photo of former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and the caption “If you aren’t setting fire to buildings, then you ain’t black.”
Following strong pushback on social media, the lawmaker issued his apology two days later.
“This weekend I retweeted a meme that mischaracterized recent comments from a presidential candidate and related them to protests in response to the unimaginable and very tragic death of George Floyd in Minnesota,” Fishbein said. “The meme was offensive, period. I apologize to the people of the 90th district, my colleagues in the General Assembly and to the people of Connecticut.”
The caption refers to a comment Biden made last week on “The Breakfast Club,” a nationally syndicated morning show hosted by Charlamagne Tha God. “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump then you ain’t black,” Biden said. He was widely criticized for the remark and later apologized.
Fishbein said he shared the meme without comment “in a subtle attempt to point out a double standard regarding political speech.”
But, he added, “without explanation, there was no context. I was wrong.”
Fishbein’s retweet was denounced by political leaders on both sides of the aisle. “It has come to my attention that there was a retweet of a social media post that is not representative of the House Republican Caucus,” tweeted Rep. Themis Klarides, the leader of the caucus. “We unequivocally condemn it.”
She added: “In light of the events that have occurred in the last few days, we need to figure out how to heal as a country and behavior like this should not be condoned in any circumstance.”
Democrats also took to Twitter to denounce Fishbein. “This is appalling,” said Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown. “Rep. Fishbein’s racism does not belong in the General Assembly. His Republican colleagues should call on him to resign.”
Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, called Fishbein’s comment “disturbing.”
And in a joint statement, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, Majority Leader Matt Ritter and Rep. Brandon McGee; and Rep. Geraldo Reyes, leaders of the legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said the “blatantly racist retweet is beyond tone deaf — it is hurtful, inflammatory and bigoted.”
They called on Republican leaders across the state to respond to “this cowardly act of bigotry by Rep. Fishbein. Silence is not an option.”
Fishbein is a lawyer who was first elected in 2016. The district consists of portions of Wallingford and Cheshire.
