Jared Polis Promotes White Supremacist and Child Porn Defender as “Intellectuals”

Someone from Governor Jared Polis’s team should seriously revoke his social media privileges.

It was just one year ago that the Democratic governor of Colorado inspired statewide outrage for posting a celebration of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — mere months after Polis himself said the famous anti-vaxer would bring back measles and polio.

Now, Polis is back with an even stranger endorsement. In an X post on December 7, the governor encouraged his constituents to follow Richard Hanania and Nicholas Decker on social media.

Hanania spent years writing for white supremacist publications, expressing support for eugenics and opposition against “race-mixing.” Decker has posted frequently in defense of various sex crimes, including consuming AI-generated child pornography and having sexual relations with minors and animals.

Polis lauded Hanania and Decker as “intellectuals” who “are doing actual thinking which is rare these days,” though he noted that his promotion of the men “doesn’t mean I agree with them most or all of the time.”

The governor’s team doubled down on that last part when Westword asked Polis to clarify his endorsement of the men. Westword’s inquiry included an article from The Atlantic detailing Hanania’s ties to white supremacist ideology.

“The Governor was clear in his post that he doesn’t agree with the majority of what these individuals believe and he is always open to hearing differing viewpoints,” says Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Polis. “His focus remains on leading for Colorado, and that includes listening to opposing perspectives and finding ways to disagree better no matter where they land in the depths of social media.”

Here are just a few of the “opposing perspectives” Coloradans will see if they follow Hanania and Decker, as Polis recommends:

Advocating for Government Surveillance of Black People

Defending AI-Generated Child Pornography

Promoting Eugenics, Opposing Interracial Relationships

Defending the Sexual Abuse of Animals

Supporting Sexual Attraction Toward Minors

Advocating Against Sex Offender Registries

And Spewing Even More Racism