Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Deletes Sarcastic ‘White, Just Like Me’ Tweets Amid Calls of Racism

Newsmax host Greg Kelly appears to have deleted a number of tweets that celebrated political figures because they are White, like him.

The now-deleted tweets praised former President Bill Clinton and Defense Secretaries William Cohen and Les Aspin — who Kelly served in the Marine Corps under — because they shared the same skin tone. Yes, he tweeted a number of “white, like me,” messages that many understood to be racist, or at least, irresponsibly racialized.

But savvy followers of Kelly’s performance art style Twitter feed know that it was almost certainly an attempt at ironically detached humor, albeit a failed one.

In a statement to Mediaite, Newsmax confirmed that the original tweets were an effort to call out racism. “We understand a series of tweets were posted by Mr. Kelly today that, in their totality, indicated his opposition to racism,” the conservative network stated. “We at Newsmax never countenance the posting of racist views or views that appeal to racists. We are currently reviewing the matter.”

Some crucial context is necessary for those unfamiliar with Kelly’s Twitter feed. The host of Newsmax’s top-rated 7 pm nightly show has become known for his Twitter messages, which are often designed to be comedic parodies designed to elicit a reaction from many who don’t quite get the joke.

Sunday morning, Kelly got things started with an all-caps call out of how marketers appear to focus on a diverse cast of individuals featured in television advertisements and noticing a curious lack of “WHITE MEN” in any commercials:

Kelly’s then posted a handful of messages Sunday afternoon, but the only one that is still up is one in which he lauds former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, the first and only Black person who held that office and also the officiant of his wedding in 2017.

The Tweet reads “Now the Truth,” which seems a clear signal that the previous, and now-deleted tweets, were NOT the “TRUTH” but rather some sort of attempt at satire for anyone overly focused on race. Mediaite captured screenshots of the ironically detached tweets which you can see below:

At face value, the tweets appear to be flatly racist, or more to the point, really white supremacist-ey. And let’s not forget the follow-up Tweet celebrating Dinkins that opened with “NOW THE TRUTH,” suggesting that these were not honest appraisals of race, and instead sarcastic attempts to mock identity politics.

But one needs to also put the above tweets in the context of Kelly’s sarcastic Twitter feed, in which he often plays the part of an ill-informed consumer who complains about McDonald’s menu offering or parades his “ignorance” on smoking WEED. Here are just a few examples of Kelly’s Twitter comedy, starting with his lamenting of the “MCFISH” going AWOL from the “MACDONALD’s” Menu:

Kelly shared a cautionary tale about the downside of smoking marijuana:

Kelly has thoughts on Sex and the City:

So much of Kelly’s Twitter feed is not really meant to be taken seriously. And his “White, like me” Tweets were not intended as they were received. Some have correctly called Kelly something of a Twitter performance artist, which is accurate. I know Greg and have appeared on his show and I have never known him to be anything less than fair and reasonable to people of all races.

That said, the confusion that came from these overly arch Tweets reveals that even ironically detached commentary that plays with race and racism, is a third rail in US politics. And Kelly’s decision to delete tweets because many didn’t get the “joke”? Probably wise.

Disclaimer: Colby Hall is an infrequent contributor to Newsmax and appeared on Greg Kelly’s program in 2020, but has not been on his show since late summer of last year.