GOP primary challenger Joe Walsh says the racist things he's said on Twitter don't necessarily make him a racist

(Image credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The presidential campaign freshly launched by former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) also appears to be doubling as some kind of an apology — or at least personal accountability — tour.

Walsh, who on Sunday officially announced that he was challenging President Trump in the Republican primary, has routinely come under fire for his own controversial remarks, including a plethora of racist and insensitive tweets over the years. Walsh acknowledged his Twitter feed on Monday in an appearance on MSNBC, and concurred that some of what he said is, indeed, racist. But, as Walsh sees it, that doesn't influence whether he's actually a racist offline, or, as the youth say, "IRL."

When he made his announcement on Sunday, Walsh said he regretted helping "create" Trump by playing into divisive, personal politics, so it seems he's trying to rip off the Band-Aid at the beginning of his campaign and address criticism that was sure to arise otherwise. Read more about Walsh's presidential campaign here at The Week.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.