‘I am an American’: how a city official stood firm against an anti-Asian attack

After a xenophobic rant was directed at Irvine's vice-mayor, originally from South Korea, her response drew attention

Tammy Kim, the vice-mayor of Irvine, California, won her seat with more votes than any candidate in the city's history. But that hasn't stopped the racist attacks.

Kim, originally from South Korea, is one of three Asian American members of the southern California city's council, which gained an Asian majority with Kim's election. During a recent public discussion about a proposed veterans cemetery, she faced a xenophobic rant from a man who asked how she felt about the 36,574 Americans who died trying to save your country for freedom" during the Korean war.