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Republican Party Accused Of Darkening Colin Kaepernick's Skin For Disparaging Ad

Former NFL star Colin Kaepernick appears to have had his skin color significantly darkened as part of a new disparaging campaign fundraiser ad from the Republican party, Yahoo News reported.

This is just the latest in a series of incidents in which Republicans appear to have made substantial changes in an effort to appeal to their base.

The message was sent out by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Wednesday.

Yahoo News

The NRCC, which serves to get Republicans elected to the House of Representatives, shared aside-by-side photo of Kaepernick and Donald Trump, with the NFL star's skin appearing much darker than in the original version of the same photograph.

"WHO DO YOU STAND WITH?" the ad implored its viewers. "DONALD TRUMP AND THE BETSY ROSS FLAG OR ANTI-AMERICAN FLAG COLIN KAEPERNICK?"

In the same message, the NRCC advertised a mug emblazoned with the 1770s-era American flag.

In exchange for a $25 donation, supporters would receive the patriotic mug.

That same flag is the reason why Kaepernick recently made headlines after publicly saying he found Nike's planned sneakers featuring the 18th century flag to be offensive. In response, Nike announced that they wouldn't be selling the shoe anymore, much to the chagrin of those who accused Kaepernick of being un-American for linking the shoes to an era of slavery and discrimination against black people.

In 2016, Kaepernick also ruffled some feathers after famously beginning a protest to take a knee rather than standing during the national anthem.

He did this as a means of protesting against racial oppression and police shootings. At the time, he received significant criticism from similar audiences, as well as from President Donald Trump himself.

In a series of tweets, he slammed Kaepernick's kneeling, writing, "If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!"

In response to allegations that the photo had been darkened, NRCC communications director Chris Pack insisted it wasn't.

Yahoo News

However, one Democratic operative slammed the Republican party for what they believe to have been a blatantly racist ad campaign.

"House Republicans are running on racism, plain and simple," the operative said. "It's disgusting, it's offensive and it should be fireable, but there's not accountability in the Republican Party."

This wouldn't be the first time political ad makers have tampered with someone's skin color.

In fact, many of these ad makers have previously been accused of darkening African-Americans' skin in pictures in an effort to appeal to their racist supporters.

During the 2008 presidential election, Republican candidate John McCain repeatedly darkened Obama's skin in commercials and even lightened his own so as to appeal to racist stereotypes.

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