John Cornyn Taunted After Asking Biden Nominee Kristen Clarke About Controversial College Paper

Republican Senator John Cornyn is under fire after asking President Joe Biden’s Justice Department nominee Kristen Clarke to defend a piece she wrote for the Harvard University student paper when she was 19-years-old.

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Cornyn asked Clarke about a statement she wrote in the paper in which she suggested African Americans were genetically superior to Caucasians.

Clarke revealed the statement appeared in the Harvard Crimson and was satirical in reference to a book on the Bell Curve Theory.

“I believe you’re referring to an op-ed that I wrote at the age of 19 about the Bell Curve Theory, a racist book that equated DNA with genetics and race,” Clarke stated.

Clarke insisted the piece wasn’t a reflection of her opinion. “What I was seeking to do was hold up a mirror and put one racist theory alongside another to challenge people as to why we were unwilling to wholly reject the racist theory that defined the Bell Curve book,” she explained.

Following her response, people took to Twitter to taunt Cornyn about not doing his research about the satirical statement before asking Clarke to explain her comment.

“John Cornyn never misses an opportunity to remind the world that Ted Cruz isn't the only stupid senator from Texas,” one person wrote.

Another person admitted they enjoyed watching Cornyn’s surprised reaction to Clarke’s response. “My god... Watching Kristen Clarke (Biden’s Asst. AG nominee) utterly DESTROY Senator John Cornyn’s attempt at a ‘gotcha question’ as he brings up what she wrote at Harvard at age 19, only for her to point out that it was actually anti-racist satire... Amazing Raising hands #ConfirmClarke,” the individual wrote.

Following her time at Havard, Clarke attended Columbia Law School and went on to become the director of the New York State Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau.