Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen dismissed a news article that criticized his nitrate-heavy hog farm because the "the author is from Communist China."
"Number one, I didn't read it. And I won't," said the xenophobic simpleton who tried but failed to ban critical race theory from college classrooms in 2021 when he was part of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. "Number 2, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from Communist China. What more do you need to know?"
The author he is referring to, 27-year-old Yanqi Xu, is an immigrant from China who moved to the United States in 2017 and works as a journalist for Nebraska's Flatwater Free Press. She said she's "still trying to wrap my head around this… Especially as a woman of color, if the other person who made such a comment about you is the most powerful person in the state, how do you respond?"
From NBC News:
Pillen, a Republican, had made the remarks on Omaha radio station KFAB in September, after he was asked to respond to her article that found high levels of nitrate on his hog farms. …
This week — with Xu's blessing and after consulting with immigration lawyers to ensure her visa status wouldn't be compromised — Matt Wynn, executive director of the Nebraska Journalism Trust, which launched the Flatwater Free Press, published a column in her defense.
Xu, who said she was grateful that her employer stood with her, added that Pillen's words potentially fit into a narrative of "othering people of Chinese descent." …
The Asian American Journalists Association also released a statement on Wednesday, supporting Xu.
"The Asian American Journalists Association stands with Yanqi Xu, the Flatwater Free Press journalist who was the target of remarks that attempted to dismiss her reporting because of her country of origin," the statement read. "Having an independent and diverse press corps is essential to democracy, and Xu, an investigative reporter who grew up in China, deserves to do her job without being judged because of her nationality."
Naturally, the cowering governor did not respond when asked by NBC for a comment.
