TOPEKA, Kan. — U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins told a recent gathering in northeast Kansas that the Republican Party is looking for a “great white hope” to help stop President Barack Obama’s political agenda.
Videotape shows Jenkins, a Republican, making the comment at an Aug. 19 forum. She was discussing the GOP’s future after Democrats took control of the House and Senate and Obama became the nation’s first black president. Jenkins is white.
Jenkins spokeswoman Mary Geiger told The Associated Press Thursday Jenkins apologizes for her word choice and did not intend to offend anyone. A White House spokesman withheld comment ahead of Thursday afternoon’s on-the-record briefing.
The term stems from the early 1900s when there was a campaign to find a white boxer who could defeat heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, who was black.