Who is Eric Cheng? Why Nithya Raman fired her campaign staffer days before LA mayoral election

Eric Cheng worked part-time on Nithya Raman’s Los Angeles mayoral campaign as a liaison to digital content creators. He was fired after a video in which he discussed Michigan’s Senate race drew criticism over his comments about Black voters.

Why did Nithya Raman fire Eric Cheng?

Cheng was fired after a video he posted on his personal Instagram account about Michigan’s Senate race drew criticism. According to the Los Angeles Times, Cheng said Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat who made a surprise endorsement of a Republican in a US Senate race, had been trying to “brainwash a lot of the Black vote” in her state.

Political strategist Michael Trujillo, who supports Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, criticized Cheng’s remarks in a post on X on Sunday. “This isn’t even funny,” Trujillo wrote, according to the California Post. He questioned the Raman campaign’s response to the video and said the remarks showed “ignorance of the African American community.” Trujillo also called on the campaign to apologize.


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Raman’s campaign responded within an hour. In a reply to Trujillo on X, the campaign said: “We’re aware of a video posted by a part-time staffer on his personal social media account commenting about the Michigan Senate race. The comments in it are reprehensible and do not reflect our campaign. We apologize.”

The campaign also said Cheng was no longer part of the team. Raman strategist Jeff Millman later confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Cheng had been terminated. Cheng, who served as a liaison between the campaign and digital content creators, had no comment when contacted by the newspaper.

What has Eric Cheng said about his firing?

As per the Los Angeles Times report, Cheng had not commented when the newspaper contacted him.

The incident came just before Election Day in the Los Angeles mayoral race between incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and Raman, a City Council member challenging her for the office.

Who is Eric Cheng?

Eric Cheng was a part-time staffer on Nithya Raman’s campaign for Los Angeles mayor. According to the Los Angeles Times, he served as a liaison between the campaign and various digital content creators. The newspaper did not provide further biographical details about his background or career.