A Republican candidate has harshly criticized slavery reparations in her campaign to become Missouri secretary of state.
Valentina Gomez, a 25-year-old real estate investor, denounced Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and plans to compensate the descendants of slavery victims in a video tweet.
The armed MAGA candidate, who in a stunt last month told voters not to be “weak and gay,” is on the ballot during the Aug. 6 Republican primary to choose the nominee for secretary of state.
Her comments come in a divisive election season in which the politics of race, gender and sexual identity have become major issues — and a vote-winner for some candidates.
“Reparations for slavery and black victimhood are about to be shoved down our throats for the most miserable holiday in America,” Gomez said in this week’s viral X video.
Those who don’t like living in the ‘greatest nation’ can ‘hurry up,’ says rioter Gomez
The 25-year-old once again closed her video with a photo of herself armed and in combat gear
“BLM has raised millions. And what have they done for black lives?”
Gomez, a Colombian native who has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, denounced those seeking payouts for the historic sins of slavery, segregation and Jim Crow.
“It’s outrageous to see people asking for reparations even though they never experienced slavery,” she said.
“These ungrateful people should be celebrating because they were born in the greatest country that ever existed.”
She concluded with a foul-mouthed “tip” for those pursuing the racial justice agenda.
“If you don’t like America, please leave.”
The clip then cuts to a photo of Gomez holding a gun — a common image on her social media feeds.
Gomez is running for Missouri Secretary of State as a Republican. With the state heavily red, it is likely that the winner of the Republican primary will prevail in the general election
The incumbent president, Republican Jay Ashcroft, is running for governor of Missouri, leaving the seat open.
Gomez has attracted much more attention than her competitors simply because of her controversial stances and provocative videos.
One showed her jogging through St. Louis’ predominantly LGBTQ Soulard neighborhood in May, wearing a bulletproof vest and telling voters not to be “weak and gay.”
In February, she shared footage of herself setting fire to two LGBTQ-themed books, characterizing the texts as “grooming, indoctrinating and sexualizing.”
“When I am Secretary of State, I will BURN all the books that groom, indoctrinate and sexualize our children. MAGA. America First,” she wrote on X.
After Instagram removed the video, Gomez told HuffPost that she was, “Just like President Trump,” adding, “I’m one of the most suppressed voices on Instagram.”
Gomez has previously said “don’t be gay” when referring to “countries that ban guns, firearms or even flamethrowers,” as reported by radio station WCPT.
Her social media bio reads: “Jesus is King. MAGA. America first.”
She opposes vaccination mandates and the “transgender agenda.”
Gomez recently attacked Dylan Mulvaney, who spoke at a Jesuit college in Missouri. She called Mulvaney ‘a guy’ with ‘a penis’
Gomez has built a reputation for wading into conservative culture war issues
Gomez used a flamethrower to ‘groom, indoctrinate and sexualise’ books in a viral video shared as part of her campaign
Gomez has also expressed his admiration for Andrew Tate, who is accused of human trafficking in Romania.
According to her LinkedIn, she has been working at Nestlé Purina since October 2021.
Viewers were quick to respond to her latest campaign video, posted on June 18, with many calling her “fraudulent” and “impersonating a military veteran.”
Others noted her strong Colombian accent and questioned her immigration status.
Gomez has attracted much more attention than her counterparts simply because of her controversial stances and provocative videos
There were also many comments supporting her for being “amazing” and “patriot.”
Gomez has built a reputation for wading into conservative culture war issues
She recently attacked Dylan Mulvaney, who spoke at a Jesuit college in Missouri. She called Mulvaney “a guy” with “a penis.”
Since the secretary of state became Missouri’s top elections official, Gomez has floated plans to overhaul the voting system.
She says the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, which could form the basis for her plan to “remove electronic voting machines to successfully transition to universal paper ballot counting,” according to her campaign website.
She also supports the use of the National Guard to monitor polling places in Missouri.
The reparations movement she criticizes gained momentum in the US during the 2020 race protests over the police killing of George Floyd, but progress has stalled recently.
Advocates say it’s time for America to pay back its Black residents for the injustices of the historic transatlantic slave trade, Jim Crow segregation and the inequities that persist to this day.
Critics say payouts to select black people will inevitably divide winners and losers and raise questions about why American Indians and others aren’t getting their own benefits.
They are popular among the black people who benefit from them, but unpopular among the whites, Asians and others who would pay the tax bill without benefiting from it themselves.