George Clayton, a Trump supporter who says he’s running for the Texas State School Board this year, responded to a tweet posted by a biracial high school senior excited to be accepted into Harvard – by denigrating his hard work and achievement.
Drake Johnson post photos of himself in a Harvard sweatshirt, tweeting, “It’s official, I’m Harvard bound.”
Clayton, who previously served on the State School Board and has run for office several times, wants “to start a Trump 2020 club,” and describes himself as an “educator.” He responded with what some are calling a racist attack.
“Congrats. Were you admitted on merit or quota?” Clayton asked.
Johnson tells The Texas Tribune “he was unsure how to interpret it. After thinking about whether to reply, he decided to list his accomplishments in a follow-up tweet.”
His mother “said she read the tweet as racist.”
“Why do you care, and why are you asking that particular question to a kid who is clearly of some type of mixed race?” she asked. “That is just so frustrating.”
And as it turns out, George Clayton has a history of asking students if their college acceptance was based on a quota:
To one student he revealed the motivation behind his questions: “If on a quota number, work hard, make the best of it and thank the merit applicant you replaced.”
For the record, Drake Johnson, the Tribune notes, “was accepted to 10 schools — including Cornell, Dartmouth and Brown — and said he plans on becoming president of the United States in 2044.”