Pro-Trump GOP candidate: 'Diversity is a bunch of crap and un-American'

Republicans have pinned their hopes of holding New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District on a candidate who says that the idea of diversity is “crap” — and who thinks other Republicans should say the same thing.

“The best way to bring diversity to the Republican Party is for Republicans to openly say that the whole idea of diversity is a bunch of crap, and un-American,” Seth Grossman, now the official Republican nominee in the 2nd District, said in a video recently posted by American Bridge.

Grossman added that diversity “has become an excuse by Democrats, communists, and socialists, basically, to say that we’re not all created equal … if somebody is lesser qualified, they will get a job anyway, or they’ll get into college anyway, because of the tribe that they’re with, what group, what box they fit into.”

He also claimed that Republicans only nominated Kim Guadagno for governor of New Jersey because she is a woman. “I believe that’s why Republicans nominated Kim Guadagno instead of Jack Ciattarelli last time,” he said. “Oh, she’s a woman, she’ll get more votes because we’re showing how diverse we are. Look how that turned out.”

Grossman originally made the comments during a candidates’ forum weeks before the primary, but they drew attention and controversy after American Bridge posted them to YouTube last week. On Monday, however, Grossman said that he stands by his remarks.

Grossman defeated fake multi-millionaire Hirsch Singh in last week’s primary, and will face state Sen. Jeff Van Drew in November.

New Jersey is key to the Democratic Party’s hopes of taking over the House in the midterm elections. Things were already looking bad for Republicans in the state after they got wiped out by Democrat Phil Murphy in the governor’s race in November. Guadagno’s campaign stoked racial resentment of immigrants, a Trump-like strategy that fell completely flat with voters.

Grossman is also unapologetically pro-Trump, supporting Trump’s policies and his “Make America Great Again” slogan. Grossman even takes attacks on Trump personally.

“As far as I’m concerned, he’s being attacked because he’s defending the America that I had learned to love. Because of that, those attacks on Donald Trump are actually an attack on me,” Grossman said.

That aggressive embrace of Trump isn’t likely to help Grossman win in New Jersey, though. 

Trump and the Republicans have left such a bad taste in New Jersey’s mouth that all 11 New Jersey House seats could end up in Democratic control, one Monmouth University pollster predicted. Candidates like Grossman will surely help to seal that fate for the GOP.