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Tags: john hickenlooper | colorado | apology

Hickenlooper Apologizes for Slave Remark

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is shown
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

By    |   Tuesday, 16 June 2020 01:22 PM EDT

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is apologizing after he was heard on a  video comparing himself and elected officials to “slaves” on ships.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat now running for the Senate, issued his apology in a statement released on Monday, according to The Hill.

"Taking a look at this video from six years ago, I recognize that my comments were painful,” he said. “I did not intend them to be. I offer my deepest apologies.”

His apology came after Tay Anderson, a member of the Denver School Board, tweeted a video of Hickenlooper making the slavery comment, The Hill reported..

"If I was to describe a scheduler, a political scheduler, imagine an ancient slave ship with the guy with the whip, and you're rowing," Hickenlooper said in the video. "We elected officials are the ones that are rowing, and they have nothing but hard, often thankless things to do." 

Meanwhile, Hickenlooper has come under fire for accepting expensive gifts during his time in office, including a flight on a private jet and a ride in a limousine in 2018.

Last week, the Colorado Ethics Commission found that Hickenlooper twice violated a ban on public officials accepting gifts, travel, entertainment or anything else of value above a certain limit, according to The Daily Caller.

Jeffrey Rodack

Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.

© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is apologizing after he was heard on a  video comparing himself and elected officials to “slaves” on ships.
john hickenlooper, colorado, apology
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2020-22-16
Tuesday, 16 June 2020 01:22 PM
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