According to The Advocate, Greg Tramontin, the founder of Go Auto Insurance who is frequently featured in the company's commercials as “Greg the GoAuto Guy,” has issued an apology for statements made about a Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris.

The comments were made via a Facebook account that has since been deleted.

In response to a political discussion about the 2020 Presidential Election, Tramontin said, “Trump was doing it for all the right reasons. He loved this country. It was in trouble,” he wrote. “(He) doesn’t need this, unlike power hungry Joe and the hoe!”

On Wednesday evening, Tramontin was contrite, issuing a statement that included an explanation and an apology for his social media comment, saying his words about Harris were made in jest, but “obviously inappropriate.”

“But now I ask myself, why? Why did I think, for even a second, that this was something to express?” Tramontin said. “I have to be honest that I was caught up in the deep political divide and the toxic rhetoric that this country has been living in for the past several years. My words were hurtful. I sincerely apologize. This is my wakeup call.”

According to The Advocate, the incident triggered frustration from many in the community, the newspaper cited a response from the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, which issued the following statement regarding Tramontin's remarks:

“If this is the level of respect he shows to African American women,” the Black Caucus wrote, “our thought is that everyone of great conscience, all people of color, specifically women, should look at this company and decide whether they are being respected.”

The statement by Caucus Chair, Sen. Jimmy Harris III, D-New Orleans, and, Vice Chair Barbara Carpenter, D-Baton Rouge, called the disparagement of Harris, the first woman and first Black elected as vice president, “unacceptable, inexcusable and appalling.”

Tramontin founded Go Auto in 2009 and the widely popular insurance company has locations in Ohio and Nevada.