A mayor in upstate New York is standing by his social media post calling Democratic voters “retarded” before Election Day, according to local outlet The Post Star.
Denis Langlois, mayor of the 6,500 residents of Fort Ann, has faced backlash after writing on Facebook, “If anyone that I know vote [sic] for a Democrat on Tuesday you should sign yourself into the Mental Health unit at your local Hospital because you are retarded and need help, Vote Republican and ‘Keep America Great’!”
{mosads}Langlois told The Post Star that he has “no regrets” for what he wrote.
“I live for myself and what I believe in,” Langlois told the newspaper. “I have no regrets on what I say. I never have regrets on what I say. I believe what I believe.”
“Whether it’s politically correct or not, it’s what I believe, and it doesn’t matter,” he added. “I talk from my heart and my soul, and that’s all there is to it.”
The word “retarded” is considered offensive by most disability rights organizations, including the Special Olympics and Best Buddies.
The mayor gave two other statements to the newspaper about his Facebook post, first saying that he didn’t remember writing it and then insisting he posted it in his capacity as a private citizen, not a public official.
“I’m not doing it as an official, I’m doing it as a person,” Langlois told the paper. “You can’t quote me as the mayor, you can only quote me as a person.”
He later added, “Most people don’t even know I’m the mayor. Nobody cares anymore. That’s the problem with America today.”
Langlois removed the post after screenshots of it were circulated online, local NBC affiliate WNYT reported.