A candidate in a Republican runoff for Dallas County Commissioner told the Dallas Morning News on Friday that he created a trust in 2010 that rewards his kids if they marry someone who is white.
Following the interview with the outlet, the paper withdrew its recommendation for Cunningham in the GOP runoff happening on Tuesday.
We withdraw Vickers Cunningham recommendation in GOP runoff for Dallas County Commissioners Court Precinct 2 | @DMNopinion https://t.co/VkrkzP5mZT
“There are milestones set out in the trust," Vickers "Vic" Cunningham told the Dallas Morning News.
He said that money is distributed for certain "milestones" like running for public office and reaching a certain age. The same thing for marrying someone who is Christian, of the opposite sex, and white.
“Again, I'm supporting what my beliefs are, I strongly support traditional family values,” Cunningham said of the clause in an interview. "That if you marry a person of the opposite sex, that’s Caucasian, that’s Christian, they will get a distribution."
"It doesn't prohibit anything and it doesn't say you'll never get the money. You're just not going to get that milestone distribution," he added.
The reporter asked Cunningham, a former criminal district judge, why he wanted to include that clause in the trust.
"It's my religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and I wanted to support my faith of being a Christian," the candidate responded.
"What does that have to do with them being Caucasian?" the reporter asked.
"It's again, I wanted to support my faith in encouraging a traditional family value," Cunningham said.
"You consider it a traditional family value, as I understand it, to marry within one's race," another reporter asked.
"Correct," Cunningham responded.
Cunningham's campaign could not immediately be reached for comment. On Saturday, he addressed the trust in a statement posted to Facebook.
"I take full responsibility for the terms of the trust my children would have to meet upon marriage to receive an advance from their trust," he said.
"This trust was set-up during a time of concerned feelings about my brother Bill’s gay lifestyle. My views on interracial marriage have evolved since I set-up the irrevocable trust in 2010, and today I would absolutely remove those conditions if I legally could."
Watch more of that interview here:
