Son Of Wisconsin Senate Candidate Tommy Thompson Makes Obama Birther Joke At Fundraiser
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Oct 15, 2012 2:00PM
Jason Thompson, son of Republican Wisconsin Senatorial candidate Tommy Thompson, made a birther joke at a fundraiser Sunday morning, telling attendees, “we have the opportunity to send President Obama back to Chicago — or Kenya.” Buzzfeed captured the event on video, posted below.
Thompson was Governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2001, and he was briefly a presidential candidate in the 2008 election. He's currently in a tight race for the Senate seat against U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison). Thompson was not present at the brunch event in Kenosha, but according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, attendees included Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brad Courtney.
Thompson responded to Buzzfeed by email, “The Governor has addressed this with his son, just like any father would do. Jason Thompson said something he should not have, and he apologizes.” Baldwin declined to comment on the video to the Journal Sentinel.
Jason Thompson has been campaigning heavily for his father in the tight race, as have other Wisconsin Republicans. Priebus attended another fundraiser with Tommy Thompson later the same day alongside Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Vice Presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. "Scott, Reince and I are protégés of the Tommy Thompson farm team,” Ryan said at the fundraiser, according to The Hill. "He is a great leader who has done extraordinary things."
Watch the brief video below.