Michael Avenatti, who shot to fame representing porn star actress Stormy Daniels and for suing President Donald Trump — and is now mulling his own White House bid – says the 2020 Democratic nominee "better be a white male."
The eye-popping assertion came in a profile posted by Time on Thursday, and drew an immediate outcry.
In a transcript of the exchange posted by Time, Avenatti was asked if he thinks there is a possible Democratic front-runner for the 2020 race.
"I think it better be a white male," he responded, according to the transcript.
"And I don't say that because I want it to have to be a white male. I say that because of just the realities of the situation. I think if the Democrats nominate anyone other than a white male at the top of the ticket, they're gonna lose the election."
"I think it's different when you have a white male making the arguments," he added. "I think they carry more weight. Should they carry more weight? Absolutely not. But do they? Yes."
Critics lashed out, saying Avenatti was out of touch with Democratic values.
"Barack Obama was president for eight years, jackass," tweeted former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.
"Performative White Boy 'Wokeness,' Exhibit 6127742398742384," tweeted Jess Morales Rocketto, head of the Families Belong Together immigrant rights coalition. "Michael Avenatti is not a Democrat, he is an Ambulance Chasing Opportunist."
But Avenatti defended himself amid the backlash, telling Politico he was “misquoted and taken out of context." "It's a f***ing outrage," he fumed.
"Anybody who has seen any of my speeches would know I call out white males for not doing their part," he told Politico. "And I say that especially white males need to step up and be heard and defend women, minorities and people of color because they can't do it alone. I usually get standing ovations for it. That's what I meant. I've been applauded for it. . . . I'm not going to have people turn this into something that it's not."
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