An Ohio GOP county chairman has deleted a social media post that implied the wildfires ravaging California were “God’s punishment” for the “liberal” state.
Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman Dave Johnson told Cleveland.com on Monday that he posted the image to his Facebook page after reading an article about the fires. While he said he believes Democrats have poorly managed California’s forests, he added that he did not mean to insult anyone by sharing the image.
“Look, that’s a meme,” Johnson told the news outlet. “And it’s how I feel about liberals, but did I mean that God is going to punish everyone who lives in California? No. It’s a figure of speech, and I probably shouldn’t have done it.
“But I did, and it doesn’t change how I feel about what’s happened in California.”
The news outlet notes that Johnson is a member of Ohio Republican Party’s central committee and served as a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention. – READ MORE