On Election Day, Tupola finds herself defending ‘disrespectful’ video poking fun at her opponent

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - State Rep. Andria Tupola, the Republican candidate for governor, is defending a recently released video that pokes fun at her Democratic opponent, incumbent Gov. David Ige.

Just hours before Election Day, user @newhawaii808 posted to Instagram a comedy sketch video showing Tupola saying she’s excited for the election and then phoning someone posing as Ige.

After she asks if he’s ready, he says in the video, “I don’t know if the young voters are da kine. But I’m making a Hot Pocket right now.”

At the end of the video, he points to a red button, meant to be a spoof on the “button” pushed during Hawaii’s missile alert scare earlier this year.

The video is raising eyebrows.

“I think it shows a lack of judgment, maybe a bit of immaturity,” said Hawaii News Now political analyst Colin Moore. “It’s not the sort of thing you want to do if you’re running for governor.”

Moore added the video could probably be interpreted as racist and “certainly disrespectful of the governor.”

Micah Leval, a student at University of Hawaii at Manoa, agreed, saying posting the video so close to Election Day was “probably not the smartest thing.”

“Although she was trying to be funny, I know that some people may find it offensive,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tupola, who said the video was put together by some local comedians, is standing by the video.

“This is a satirical comedy,” Tupola said. “We are a state that has many ethnicities, a lot of different demographics, that we can actually talk about things in a lighter manner than other places, and I think that’s what makes Hawaii special.”

She also called it a way to engage voters, especially younger voters.

Gov. David Ige has not yet commented on the video.