Rick Santorum Says He ‘Misspoke’ During Comments About Native Americans

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) claims he “misspoke” while making comments about Native American culture.

During an interview with CNN’s 📺Chris Cuomo on Monday night, Santorum was questioned about remarks he made regarding the effects of Native American culture on the United States.

“We birthed a nation from nothing; I mean, there’s nothing here. I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture,” Santorum said at a conference hosted by Young America’s Foundation on April 23.

Cuomo argued it seemed like Santorum was trying to “erase diversity in the interest of some white Christian right.”

Santorum replied, “Just to be clear, what I was not saying was that Native American culture, I misspoke. What I was talking about is, as you can see from the run-up, I was talking about the founding of our country.”

He added, “I had given a long talk about the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the ideas behind those, and that I was saying we sort of created that anew, if you will. And I was not trying to dismiss Native Americans.”

Watch the interview below:

Recognizing Native Americans “have a huge impact on American culture,” Santorum explained, “I was talking about, and I misspoke in this respect, I was talking about the founding and the principles embodied in the founding.”

He added, “The way we treated Native Americans was horrific. It goes against every bone and everything I’ve fought for as a leader in the Congress.”

CNN’s 📺Don Lemon