Republican Jen Kiggans faces calls to resign for agreeing with racist 'cotton-picking' remark

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 12 May 2026 16.00 EDT
First published on Tue 12 May 2026 09.24 EDT


Jen Kiggans, a Republican congresswoman, is facing calls from Democrats to resign for agreeing with a radio host after he said the top US House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, should get his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia”.

Kiggans, who represents a swing district in southeastern Virginia, has said she was agreeing with the host that Jeffries – who is the first Black American to lead a party in Congress – should stay out of the state’s politics. She also said she did not condone the host’s language, which multiple Democrats criticized as racist.

The term “cotton-picking” is widely considered offensive due to the US history of slavery, when enslaved people – the overwhelming majority of whom were Black – picked cotton.

“If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing,” Rich Herrera, a conservative radio host, said on Richmond’s Morning News on Monday. “Leave New York, move down here to Virginia. Run for office down here – you can represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.

Kiggans replied: “That’s right. Ditto – yes, yes to that.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/12/kiggans-resign-racist-comment-radio

[rpannier]

1. Regardless of the language, which is offensive

He is the leader of the Democrats in the House. His job is to promote the Party everywhere.

[Polybius]

2. I remember when that term used to be on used on cartoons

It was regularly used on Looney Tunes by Yosemite Sam. But that was eons ago!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Children learned the term not from "Birth of a Nation" but from Saturday morning cartoons on TV.

There's a discussion of the etymology at Reddit. Bugs Bunny is involved.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/rapry3/the_phrase_now_wait_just_a_cotton_picking_minute/

On his website, etymologist Barry Popik hints that the widepsread popularity of the term "cotton-picking" as an intensifier might be the work of that wascally cartoon wabbit Bugs Bunny. More specifically, the Looney Tunes star is likely who coined the phrase "cotton-picking minute". It is first heard in the cartoon short Bully For Bugs, originally distributed to theaters beginning on August 3, 1953. In the cartoon, Bugs says:

"Well, here I am. Hey, just a cotton-picking minute. This don’t look like the Coachella Valley to me."

Popik notes that Bugs Bunny would use the phrase again in the 1957 short Romeo Rabbit. But that first instance appeared to have had the effect of popularizing that specific phrase, because the phrase began appearing in newspapers by the end of 1953. "Wait a cotton-picking minute" appears in the November 17, 1953, edition of the Greenville (SC) News, as well as in the January 31, 1954, edition of The State Journal in Lansing, Michigan.

This is a small excerpt. The entire commentary is worth reading.

For Yosemite Sam's wordsmithing, you might wish to take a look at this, ya weaselly-eyed varmint:

https://yosemitesamquotes.com/yosemite-sam-sayings/

And good morning.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. But it was from the same animation studio

that produced this over a decade earlier -

Stuff that my mom and her friends would have seen as part of the cartoon shorts when they went to the movies in the '30s and '40s, well before "television" (she was a Popeye fan though).

PPI today l believe and good morning!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Yeah, they had a history. I had to leave out the majority of the discussion to which I linked.

The author went into that briefly.

You have to wonder, even in 1941, didn't just one of the animators ask himself, "Should I be doing this? Is this right?"

It wasn't that long ago that the local TV stations ran the "Charlie Chan" movies. You want jaw-dropping awful stereotyping, you've got all you can handle right there.

Audie Murphy used the term "cotton-picking" too, just after the war. He was from Texas. Looney Toons might have picked it up from him.

And good morning.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. It was just a part of "Americana"

The racial and ethnic stereotyping was so pervasive, whether in entertainment or consumer packaging, that it was considered "acceptable".

It took until 5 years ago for this to finally wipe the slate clean -

Aunt Jemima announces new name, removes 'racial stereotypes' from product (February 10, 2021, 6:04 AM)

[BumRushDaShow]

5. It was a popular saying in the past when cultural norms dismissed the denigrating connotations

But today it's an anachronism during a time when large trucks "pick (and bundle) cotton", and explicitly directing the phrase at the U.S. House's first black Minority Leader, only emphasizes the racist intent.

I remember watching some videos a couple years ago, showing how some of the higher end harvesters/balers worked. Here is one showing the process -

[RandiFan1290]

8. They also used Blackface.

Things change.

[BurnDoubt]

4. And yet...

Holy Mike gets to lead through his KKKristofascist Dogma and be His Arrogance’s mouthpiece for Deplorable.
The Party of Treason shits on America and wipes its ass on the Constitution every day while the MAGA throng cheers them on.
If they’re right and Christ returns He will surely proclaim that this timeline was a test of their Fidelity and they have failed terribly in their Duty to both God and their Brothers on this Earth.
Hell will surely be over-run with these dim-wits.
Don’t Go There.

[GreenWave]

10. This is absolutely ruining her re-election campaign.

1) Come out on commercial, talking sweetly, promising the sky, how much she reaches across the aisle, then get on her tricycle and pedal off into the sunset.

2) Come out with later ads saying my opponent will start with the attack ads.

3) Hide while repugs flood the airwaves with vicious attack dog ads,

But now, she may finally have to defend herself. Perhaps she will get asked why she never held a free town hall. Lying Jen Kiggans did offer a $100 a plate "town hall" if and only if Democrats showed up with her.