Rick Santorum slammed for dismissing Native American culture: ‘There was nothing here’ when colonists arrived
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Rick Santorum’s recent bit of revisionist history was not received well on the internet.
Santorum, a former Penn Hills resident who represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for 12 years, told a student conference on Friday that “there was nothing here” when European colonizers “birthed a nation from nothing” upon arriving in what would become the United States.
The CNN senior political commentator told the seminar during remarks at a Young America’s Foundation event, “I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”
‘We came here and created a blank slate. We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here. I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but, candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.’ — Rick Santorum in a wildly white supremacist comment pic.twitter.com/jUxkm9vNZJ
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 26, 2021
He continued, “It was borne of the people who came here pursuing religious liberty to practice their faith, to live as they ought to live and have the freedom to do so. Religious liberty. Those are the two bulwarks of America. Faith and freedom.”
Santorum’s comments sparked ire on Twitter. There were even calls to CNN to fire the 2016 presidential contender.
Brian Sims, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who represents Philadelphia County, wrote in a Twitter post that Santorum’s comments were “RACIST TRASH.”
RACIST TRASH: There are countless reasons why Pennsylvania is ashamed of Rick Santorum. One of our most racist, xenophobic and bigoted exports, this Google stain deserves no attention and @CNN has to do the work of removing and apologizing for the amplification they give him. https://t.co/22Dv7XnXEB
— Brian Sims (@BrianSimsPA) April 26, 2021
Seriously is any one surprised to hear this hot garbage coming from Rick Santorum?!
Nothing was here?! No native American culture in American culture?! America hasn’t changed?!
Ok @CNN … ok! https://t.co/fGjJTf3u1m
— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@harrisonjaime) April 26, 2021
The worst living ex-Senator Rick Santorum isn’t hiding his white supremacy anymore. He is just a complete embarrassment, and as a childhood Pennsylvanian, I am so so sorry we ever elected this guy to the Senate. Cmon @CNN… https://t.co/qqgTVbOewO
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 26, 2021
To think @RickSantorum – with all his time in DC – never walked five minutes and went to The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian @SmithsonianNMAI and learned something about Indigenous history, culture and influence. What an incurious, bottom feeding bigot.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) April 26, 2021