Maryland Lawmakers Post Video with Racial Slurs Against Chinese American Colleague
By J. J. Ghosh | 14 May, 2026

Unlike in the past when politicians who let racial slurs slip out are forced out of office, the Trump era lets two Maryland State Delegates remain unapologetic about posting a 13 minute podcast filled with racist insults at fellow Chinese American delegate Chao Wu.

It’s AAPI Heritage Month, the one time a year where American society — from corporations down to elementary school classrooms — makes a concerted effort to ensure that we feel celebrated and included.

Libraries are highlighting books by Asian American authors, cinemas are screening films with Asian American casts, and legislators are passing proclamations honoring Asian Americans’ contributions to society.

In Maryland, however, Republican lawmakers Mark Fisher and Brian Chisholm are apparently honoring AAPI Month by publicly hurling racial slurs at their Chinese American colleague.

Just this week, the two state delegates posted a 13-minute video calling fellow delegate Chao Wu — born in China, doctoral degree from the University of Maryland, former school board member, duly elected representative — a communist spy, mocking his accent, and suggesting his laptop brand was evidence of foreign allegiance.

The actions of these lawmakers are reprehensible and, frankly, have become all too common in American society.

What Happened

On April 30, Fisher and Chisholm posted a video to Fisher’s X account titled the “ChiCom of the Year Award” — “ChiCom” being a Vietnam War-era derogatory slur for Chinese communist — in which they accused Democratic Delegate Chao Wu of being a spy for the Chinese Communist Party.

In a segment titled “The Dumbest Bill in America,” Chisholm performed a mocking Chinese accent while invoking a proverb: “Only catch fish in muddy water.”  And after playing a clip of Wu speaking on the topic of AI, Fisher remarked “thank god for subtitles.”  The two also called Wu’s Mac laptop “sketchy.”

Sen. George Allen's carrer was effectively ended after a video of him using a racist slur circulated

The bill in question was a transparency measure requiring AI companies to disclose training data.  It was co-sponsored by eight other delegates and did not receive a committee vote.  This was not a dangerous piece of legislation.  It was a procedural AI bill that went nowhere, which is a perfectly ordinary thing to happen to a bill in any state legislature.

Two legislators are of course well within their rights to criticize a bill that they disagree with for whatever reason.  And sure, they can call legislation “dumb,” even if it might come off as a little childish.

But even for a time when our political divisions feel like they’re at an all-time high, this vile racism is beyond the pale.

When asked to apologize, Fisher and Chisholm declined, referencing a Washington Examiner article alleging that Wu served as president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association during his time at the University of Maryland — an organization which, according to the US State Department, operates under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.  “If there is nothing to hide, there should be no problem answering basic questions,” said Chisholm.

I can’t say that I wouldn’t have personally been tempted to stoop to their level in my response.  But Wu, clearly a better man than I, took the high road.

“Find some issues that you can find a solution for,” he told reporters.  “Don’t do name-calling.  I’m still your colleague.  Be a nice person.”

A Bygone Era?

This behavior used to end political careers.

Nikki Haley was called a "rag head" by a fellow South Carolina Republican

In August 2006, Virginia Senator George Allen — a popular Republican incumbent who was widely considered a frontrunner for the 2008 presidential nomination — was campaigning in rural Virginia when he spotted S.R. Sidarth, a 20-year-old Indian American campaign tracker working for his opponent Jim Webb.

Allen pointed at Sidarth and said: “This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt.  Macaca, or whatever his name is.  Let’s give a welcome to Macaca here.  Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.”

The word macaca is a Francophone slur for North African indigenous people.  Allen claimed he didn’t know what it meant.  Webb won the race by approximately a third of a percent — 9,329 votes — and Allen’s defeat was widely attributed to the remark.  After the election, it was widely assumed Allen was no longer a viable presidential candidate.  He tried to reclaim his Senate seat in 2012 and lost again.

Even just a few years ago in 2021, Democratic Rep. Gerald Brady, a Delaware state representative, accidentally sent an email containing a racist anti-Asian slur to an advocate for decriminalizing prostitution instead of forwarding it internally.  The backlash was immediate.  Brady announced he would not seek reelection, saying “I cannot in good conscience ask the voters to put their faith in me again after I betrayed theirs.”  One accidental email.  Career over.

In 2010, South Carolina State Senator Jake Knotts called Nikki Haley — then running for governor and of Indian Sikh heritage — a “raghead,” saying “we already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need one in the statehouse.”  He issued a half-apology, saying his “intended humorous context was lost in translation.”  Haley won the governorship and Knotts’ comments led to him being censured by his own party and defeated in his re-election bid two years later.

Racism had consequences.

And each of the above examples — however awful — seemed to be the result of a single off-handed comment followed by an apology.

Fisher and Chisholm, however, produced a 13-minute video, gave it a title, posted it to social media, and have since refused to take it down or apologize.  The premeditation alone should give anyone pause.  House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk demanded an apology.  The AAPI Caucus condemned the video.  The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus condemned it.  Even the leader of the House Republican Caucus said it was out of line.

Fisher and Chisholm haven’t budged.

The New Normal?

This is not an isolated incident.  It is part of a political environment in which “Chinese spy” has become a readily available weapon, deployable against any Asian American politician whose work someone finds inconvenient, requiring no evidence and carrying apparently no cost.

The Maryland Legislative AAPI Caucus called the video the latest example of “witch-hunting against Asian Americans” amid escalating tensions between the United States and China.  That framing is right.  When US-China relations deteriorate, Chinese Americans — and frequently all Asian Americans — pay a price they did nothing to earn.  The “foreign agent” allegation follows us whether we were born in Hubei or Howard County.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, who was born in India, put it plainly: “What is radical is smearing an Asian American legislator as a ‘Chinese communist’ and mocking the way he speaks because you disagree with him.  That kind of racist rhetoric says far more about you than it does about him.”

Wu said he plans to keep working on education, infrastructure, and emerging technology policy.  He is not expecting an apology call.

George Allen — rightfully — lost his Senate seat and his presidential ambitions for one word directed at one Indian American in 2006.  Two Maryland delegates produced a 13-minute racist video in 2026, refused to apologize, and will in all likelihood face no meaningful consequence at all.  And during AAPI Month.

I shudder to think about what these guys have planned for Pride and Black History Month.