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A game-show contestant who won "Jeopardy!" dozens of times cited race and immigration in a string of divisive comments after leaving the show.
The remark come after 31 consecutive victories and almost $900,000 in winnings across March and April.
'I was able to become part of the history of an American institution.'
Jamie Ding's winning streak is the fifth longest in "Jeopardy!" history, and the $882,605 he netted stands as the fifth-highest regular play winnings in the show's history. First in both those categories goes to host Ken Jennings, who won more than $2.5 million across the span of 74 straight wins, 34 more than second-place record-holder Amy Schneider.
Foreign asset
Unlike Jennings, Ding did it all without being a native-born American of European origin, something he was eager to point out to People magazine following his final episode.
"As an immigrant and a person of color, I was able to become part of the history of an American institution," Ding stated.
The Princeton grad went on to condemn the Trump administration's policy of deporting illegal immigrants.
"'Jeopardy!' really is an institution, and America's turning 250 years old, and the federal government is going after immigrants in a way unlike anything that we've seen in the recent past," he said. "So I hope that immigrants can be seen in a positive light too."
RELATED: The homicidal empathy of the left’s immigration policies
Shame game
Ding has used his newfound fame to champion other causes, recently appearing with New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) in support of a new state housing initiative.
According to Wheel of Fortune Tonight, he works for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency as a tax credit program administrator.
"The agency I work for, we manage the low-income housing credits for New Jersey. We fund a huge chunk of the affordable housing that's built in the state," Ding said, per NorthJersey.com. "We're ahead of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. If you're from one of those states, then shame on you. Build more housing."
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Bus buff
According to Huffington Post, Ding was born in Australia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen; his parents emigrated from Beijing.
"I kept hearing how it was bringing people together," he said about his appearances on "Jeopardy!"
"I love that very much. I've heard people say, 'It's nice to have something positive on TV!'" he added.
Ding has said that he hopes to use his winnings to move closer to public transit.
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