PLOT TWIST: Gov. Northam Now Reportedly Insisting He is NOT in Racist Yearbook Photo, is Refusing to Step Down
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is now reportedly unconvinced that he is one of the people in a racist photo found in his 1984 yearbook, and is refusing to resign until he finds out who is.
After the photo — which showed one person in blackface and another in a KKK robe — was unearthed on Friday, the Democratic governor issued a statement apologizing and admitting he was in it, but did not clarify which person he was.
Following a swell of calls from Democrats for Northam to resign his post, he announced a press conference for Saturday. But, according to several reports, he does not plan to resign at the presser.
New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin tweeted Saturday that Northam is privately insisting that he is not in the photo, and does not plan to resign before he finds out who is.
He “has also been calling his former med school classmates to jog their memories,” Martin wrote.
The governor has also been calling his former med school classmates to jog their memories. He does NOT think he is the man in Klan hood or blackface and doesn’t want to resign before trying to determine who is in that photo.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) February 2, 2019
Martin’s report, now published, details Northam’s efforts to reach out to state Democrats and med school friends in an attempt to rescue his governorship. It’s not going well, per the Times.
UPDATE: Northam is “hunkered down” and might even turn to “facial recognition software” to help with his exoneration (we can foresee issues with that plan):
STORY: Northam, hunkered down w advisers, is refusing to quit, making case he does not think it was him in the photo. And he’s desperate to prove it, even suggesting he’ll use facial recognition software. But some Va Dems say it’s too late, he must go >https://t.co/3G8O5zMyy7
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) February 2, 2019
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
