A GOP Senate Candidate Claimed ‘The Bad Guys Won’ WWII and The Media Is Barely Covering Him

AP Photo/Susan Haigh

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, Royce White, has been a lightning rod of controversy since entering the race and winning the GOP primary back in August to run against incumbent Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). White, a former NBA player, made headlines again over the weekend when a 2022 social media post was uncovered, in which he wrote “the bad guys won” World War II.

“It dawned on me today … The bad guys won in WWII,” began the post, adding:

There were no “good guys” in that war. The controlling interests had a jump ball. If you look closely, you see the link between liberalism and communism in the Allied forces.

The story quickly made headlines across digital media, from local Minnesota outlets to major national ones like USA Today, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, and others. USA Today reached out to White, who claimed that his remarks were not meant to say that the Allies in World War II were the bad guys, but that the “globalists” and “the post-World War II democratic order” that the U.S. built after the war are the “bad guys.”

Notably, however, the cable news networks have yet to mention White’s latest eyebrow-raising remarks. According to a search of Snapstream’s archive of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News’s cable programming, his name has not come up at all in the last 30 days. While White’s race against Klobuchar is not a particularly close one, he is still a statewide Republican candidate in a key swing state in a must-win region of the country for the Democrats — the so-called “blue wall.”

While White’s rhetoric and scandals have certainly been eclipsed by the unimaginable details surrounding GOP candidate for governor in North Carolina Mark Robinson, cable news ignoring White is still notable – especially in the final stretch of a very close presidential election.

White, who also unsuccessfully ran for a House seat in 2022, has also made headlines for his comments attacking women, the LGBTQ community, and Jewish Americans. Last year, he joined Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast and declared, “Look, let’s just be frank. Women have become too mouthy. As the Black man in the room, I’ll say that.”

Bannon replied with a jab at MSNBC host Joy Reid, saying, “Can I officially say that Joy Reid’s ‘Black Girl magic’ does not work with Royce White.” White replied, “You know, you’re going to send me off. You go to Joy-Ann Reid. She’s wearing a white woman’s wig. You’re going to piss me off this afternoon. I’m having a beautiful day without thinking about that scam.”

While Bannon has been in jail for contempt of Congress, White has guest-hosted his podcast and his campaign for U.S. Senate has been endorsed by other Bannon acolytes like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

White has also used social media and his podcast, Please Call Me Crazy, to push bigoted attacks on individuals and promote conspiracy theories – including claims that 9/11 was a “false flag” operation. Media Matters documented White on social media calling various men “fag” and multiple female leaders like Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi “Cunt.”

White was also disavowed by the Republican Jewish Coalition for his attacks on American Jews and claims that “Jewish elites” secretly run the country.

“White is also an eager promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories and an avid defender of egregious antisemites, including Stew Peters, Louis Farrakhan, and Kanye West. He echoes the rhetoric of the Left’s antisemitic fanatics, describing Israel as “a country that takes our tax money to be ethno-national” in a comment made not long after Hamas’s October 7th attacks,” wrote the RJC in a statement in July, adding:

While Democrats – including Senator Klobuchar – have failed to take a clear stand against Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s antisemitism, we refuse to excuse or ignore antisemitism when it arises in our party. That’s why we will never support Royce White for Senate or any other position of public trust.

Whether or not Royce has a chance of winning come November, the mere fact that he is on the ballot should serve as a moment of reckoning for the GOP and is of news value to journalists across the country covering our political culture, the preservation of U.S. election integrity, and the leadership of the Republican Party. White is also very much a product of new media, a podcast host who rose to prominence through social media, something that legacy media ignores at their own peril of becoming irrelevant.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.