Mike Huckabee doesn't see the problem with this racist joke he tweeted

Republican candidate Mike Huckabee
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee (R) didn't make a lot of friends Tuesday night during the Democratic debate, when he tweeted a racist "joke" and then failed to apologize for it:

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The joke was immediately criticized by users as being tasteless, inappropriate, and perpetuating a racial stereotype. While Huckabee had tweeted earlier that "Racism exists because we have a sin problem in America, not a skin problem," he didn't apologize for his racist remark but rather mocked those who called him out.

"Poor liberals think it's racist to deplore a brutal dictatorship," Huckabee tweeted, quoting his Bernie Sanders tweet again.

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Many also found irony in the "joke," pointing out that Huckabee's son, David Huckabee, allegedly tortured and killed a dog while at Boy Scout camp in 1998, when he was almost 18.

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Huckabee's Labrador, Jet, died in 2013.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.