After making racially offensive comments during a "Daily Show" segment, Buncombe County GOP chairman Don Yelton was asked to step down from his position, WRAL TV reported.
During his appearance on the show that aired Wednesday night, Yelton applauded North Carolina's voter ID laws -- which require voters to present identification while registering to vote or voting -- because they "kick Democrats in the butt" and the "lazy black people that wants the government to give them everything."
Henry Mitchell, a chairman of the Buncombe County GOP, condemned Yelton's remarks in a press release as "offensive, uniformed and unacceptable of any member within the Republican Party."
"Let me make it very clear, Mr. Yelton's comments do not reflect the belief or feelings of Buncombe Republicans, nor do they mirror any core principle that our party is founded upon," Mitchell added. "This mentality will not be supported or propagated within our party."
Mitchell's release also states that the racist "Daily Show" segment was not Yelton's first time clashing with other members of his party.
"Yelton was recently reprimanded and removed from his position as a precinct chair in Buncombe County for a period of time in 2012 through 2013 and was then re-elected to precinct chair by two votes (his wife and himself) at the 2013 convention, placing him back on the Buncombe County Executive Committee," the statement said.
State leadership in the GOP also called for his resignation.
Despite the backlash he received, Yelton told local media outlets that he doesn't regret his comments and claims they weren't even racist.
"I've been laughed at by Democrats since I left the party. They try to make me look like a fool," he said to WLOS-TV. "This is being picked up in Raleigh, across the state. They're trying to say, 'Look at this guy. He's racist.' The whole question isn't about racism."
