Raman Removes Staffer After Video Remarks About Black Voters
Raman’s campaign removed Eric Cheng, a part-time staffer who handled ties with digital content creators, after he posted a video discussing the Michigan Senate race between Democrat Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed. Cheng said Stevens had tried to “brainwash” Black voters in the state.
The campaign condemned the remarks and apologized, saying they did not represent its views. Raman’s team said Cheng was no longer working for the campaign. Campaign strategist Jeff Millman confirmed the termination; Cheng did not comment when contacted.
Michael Trujillo, a political strategist supporting incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, drew attention to the video on social media and criticized the remarks as showing ignorance of the African American community. He urged Raman’s campaign to apologize. The campaign responded within about an hour, according to the account of the exchange.
The dispute came shortly before Los Angeles voters were due to choose a mayor on November 3. It follows other campaign controversies over social media and policing. Raman recently removed a video in which she appeared with an influencer and said, “only you can stop fascist liars.” She said it had been improperly altered and that she meant former President Donald Trump and immigration agents, not the police chief or Bass.
Bass has also criticized Raman’s description of the Los Angeles Police Department under former chief Daryl F. Gates as the “gold standard” for immigration enforcement, saying it overlooked the treatment of Black and Latino residents. Raman said Bass distorted her remarks and later apologized for invoking Gates.
Raman Acts After Staffer’s Remarks About Black Voters
A campaign staffer’s remarks about Black voters have added a racial controversy to the final stretch of Nithya Raman’s Los Angeles mayoral bid. Raman’s team dismissed Eric Cheng, a part-time liaison to digital content creators, after he posted a video about the Michigan Senate contest.
In the video, Cheng said Haley Stevens had tried to “brainwash” Black voters. The campaign called his comments reprehensible, said they did not represent the campaign and apologized. Strategist Jeff Millman confirmed Cheng’s termination. Cheng did not comment.
Michael Trujillo, who supports incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, publicized the video and said it reflected ignorance of the African American community. Raman’s team responded to his demand for an apology within about an hour.
The episode lands amid a mayoral campaign already marked by disputes over racial sensitivity, policing and social media. Bass has faulted Raman for calling the LAPD under former chief Daryl F. Gates the “gold standard” on immigration enforcement, arguing that this ignored the treatment of Black and Latino residents. Raman later apologized for invoking Gates, after accusing Bass of misrepresenting what she said.
Raman also took down a video featuring the phrase “only you can stop fascist liars,” saying it had been altered improperly and that she meant Donald Trump and immigration agents, not Bass or the police chief. The controversies leave voters weighing the candidates’ judgment as the November 3 election approaches.
Raman Campaign Scrambles to Contain Staffer’s Video
Nithya Raman’s campaign moved to cut ties with a part-time staffer after his social-media video drew criticism just before Los Angeles voters choose a mayor. Eric Cheng, who worked with digital content creators, discussed the Michigan Senate race and said Haley Stevens had tried to “brainwash” Black voters.
Raman’s campaign called the remarks reprehensible, apologized and said Cheng was no longer on the team. Campaign strategist Jeff Millman confirmed the termination; Cheng did not comment. Michael Trujillo, a strategist backing Mayor Karen Bass, had highlighted the video and demanded an apology, accusing the Raman campaign of ignorance toward the African American community.
This is not the first social-media controversy surrounding Raman’s campaign. She removed a video in which she said “only you can stop fascist liars,” explaining that it had been improperly altered and that her words referred to Donald Trump and immigration agents, not Bass or the police chief. Bass said the episode showed Raman was not ready for citywide office.
Bass has also challenged Raman’s praise of the LAPD under former chief Daryl F. Gates as the “gold standard” for immigration enforcement, arguing that it failed to account for how the department treated Black and Latino residents. Raman said Bass misrepresented her words, then apologized for mentioning Gates.
With the election set for November 3, the latest episode gives voters another test of how Raman’s campaign handles contentious statements by people associated with it.
Reported by New York Post, Los Angeles Times.
