Christian satire site The Babylon Bee is again facing backlash for a joke that critics are characterizing as racist.
The satirical headline came in the wake of Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy suspending his campaign after securing only 7.7% of the vote at the Iowa Caucus on Monday (Jan. 15). In announcing the end of his campaign, Ramaswamy offered his endorsement to former president Donald Trump.
The next day, The Babylon Bee posted an article, titled “Trump Promises Vivek An Administration Position Running The White House 7-Eleven,” alongside a photoshopped image of a disappointed Ramaswamy in a green 7-Eleven shirt.
Ramaswamy is the son of Indian immigrants.
Acknowledging the racial stereotype in the text of the article, The Babylon Bee joked, “When questioned, Trump was horrified at the accusations that any kind of racial stereotyping played into his selection of Ramaswamy. ‘I wanted to offer the job to DeSantis, frankly, but he’s too short to see over the little hot dog display.’”
Replies to The Babylon Bee’s post were quick to condemn the joke.
“The Babylon Bee is satire,” wrote one commenter. “Racist satire.” Another said, “I don’t think there’s a group that it’s more acceptable to be openly racist against than Indian-Americans.”
“I am an Indian-American and I find this grossly offensive,” said someone else. “Are we only good for running 7-11s?”
“If you ever wonder why some people are drawn to write conservative comedy, it’s because you don’t have to put in any effort,” another comment read. “You just regurgitate the racist stuff you’d hear on the playground, not even in a particularly clever way. Pretty easy grift.”
Nevertheless, others sought to defend The Babylon Bee against “woke conservatives in the comments.”
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“I don’t get why everyone hates this, it’s hilarious,” one person wrote. “Like, have they never been to a 7-Eleven?”
