Hawaii Congressman Ed Case Calls Himself ‘Asian’ In ‘White Body,’ Twitter Reacts

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), who got elected in November 2018 after a decade-long absence, made a statement at a press event Tuesday, so politically incorrect that it just took minutes for people on social media to begin criticizing him.

Nicholas Wu, a reporter for the National Journal, who attended the event – the details of which were not immediately available – was the first one who posted Case’s controversial statement on Twitter. “I’m an Asian trapped in a white body,” Case, whose district in Honolulu is home to a large population of Asians, reportedly told the audience in the room after taking the stage.

At the time of writing this article, Wu’s tweet was on its way to going viral, with nearly 450 likes, 180 retweets and over 300 comments within three hours of posting it. Regardless of which party one supported, Twitter users agreed that Case’s statement was out of line.

One user wrote: “Ed Case sees new, young, and inspiring women of color in Congress fighting with moral courage on popular issues like #GreenNewDeal and #MedicareForAll... thinks *this is how I stay relevant*” while another commented, “Dude. No. I grew up in Hawaii. I am not Hawaiian. I am nothing but haole and so are you. We can respect all the diversity that wonderful Hawaii has to offer, but not when you say stuff like this. Do better.”

Here are a few other memes and comments posted by Twitter users:

Jan. 3 was Case’s first official day back at work after getting elected last year, along with the most diverse fresh men and women to join Congress in history. The 66-year-old congressman excitedly tweeted a picture of his return to the Capitol building, posing beside the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

Speaking to Civil Beat, Case said he expected to take it slow on his first day back, and not do much except get sworn in and elect a speaker. However, he also ended up voting on two crucial bills to reopen parts of the federal government that had been shut down following President Donald Trump’s demand that Congress sanction $5.7 billion for building a border wall.