If you actively play in the spotlight of the court of public opinion then there are boundaries it is sensible not to cross. There are plenty of ways he could have done this & a few very stupids ways, one of which he used.
No sympathy here, that he has fallen on his self inflicted sword.
One sensible rule is that none of us choose our genetic physical characteristics or ethnicity, they are bequeathed by our family lines & are generally a very poor way to score political points. Another is that we mostly are incharge of our actions through our minds, interface to the world & the use of uncommon sense, which may result in making good or bad decisions & these are quite rightly open to possible praise, ridicule & criticism.
Where I have over 500 followers on Twitter & do discuss controversial subjects like quality of UK politicians, Brexit & climate fraud, it doesn't get me into trouble where I follow the above self-imposed rules.