Gov. Pillen does not apologize for calling reporter a communist

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen did not apologize when asked about comments he made calling a reporter from China a communist. “My comments were my comments,” he said.

Pillen made the original comments during an interview with KFAB radio after being asked about an article Yanqi Xu had written for the Flatwater Free Press about his business Pillen Family Farms. The article focused on the farm’s contribution to high nitrate levels in Nebraska’s water.

“No. 1: I didn’t read it — and I won’t. No. 2: All you got to do is look at the author. The author is from Communist China. What more do you need to know?” Pillen said during the interview.

Xu grew up in China but has spent the past six years living and working in the U.S. The Flatwater Free Press, the Asian American Journalist Association and several other organizations issued statements supporting Xu and condemning Pillen’s comments.

During a press conference on Friday, October 20, 1011 Now asked the governor if he stood by his comments.

“You know, you’ve heard my comments and that’s all I’m going to say,” he replied.

They also asked him what his comments said about minorities in Nebraska, to which he replied, “My comments, were my comments.”

Matt Wynn, executive director of the Nebraska Journalism Trust, which funds the Flatwater Free Press, believes the governor should apologize. Wynn wrote an op-Ed condemning the comments and offering support to Xu.

“The opportunity is still there for an apology,” Wynn said, according to the Nebraska Examiner. “I think it is the right and decent thing to do.”