GOP senator condemns white nationalists (full interview)

you heard Tom Bossert the homeland security adviser the president arguing
that the President did condemn it what do you think well this is not a time for
vagaries this isn't a time for innuendo or to allow room to be read between the
lines this is a time to lay blame to lay blame on bigotry to lay blame on white
supremacists on white nationalism and on hatred and that needs to be said this
president has done an incredible job of naming terrorism around the globe as
evil radical Islamic terrorism whether it's in Europe or the Middle East he has
said and called it out time and time again and this president needs to do
exactly that today call this white supremacism this white nationalism evil
and let the country here let the world hear it it's something that needs to
come from the Oval Office and this White House needs to do it today some critics
say that President Trump doesn't do this because he might believe that these
white supremacists are a part of his base not obviously his entire base but a
part of his base and he doesn't want to risk alienating them what do you think
why is the reason what is the reason that he won't condemn them call them
domestic terrorists call them white supremacists white nationalists white
supremacists they don't they don't they're not a part of anybody's base
they're not a part of this country they're part of hatred they're part of
bigotry they're part of evil and we need to stand up to that and so whether it's
the President of the United States a senator from any of our great 50 states
around the country or our city councils and mayor's schoolteachers call it for
what it is it's hatred its bigotry we don't want them in our base they
shouldn't be in a base they shouldn't be claimed as part of a base and it has to
be made crystal clear but why won't the president do that the way you just did
yeah well again I encouraged the president that this president has done
so when people have driven trucks through crowds in Europe he's called it
radical Islamic terrorism he should use this opportunity today to say this is
terrorism this is domestic terrorism this is white nationalism and it has to
stop and I encourage the president to do so he has a chance to do that the
healing power of the White House the ability to lead of the President of the
United States it needs to be seen today yes he condemned bigotry and hatred but
we need to name evil and call evil and name it and this in this case it is
clearly bigotry hatred racism and white nationalists who led to death and
murder in Charlottesville with respect senator you're done answering my
question why do you think he doesn't do it I mean is it sending a dog whistle I
mean you heard me quote the neo-nazi website - Tom Bossert earlier there are
neo-nazis out there who say oh great he wasn't condemning that specifically do
you think that was the intention of the president I think the president needs to
step up today and say what it is and call it for what it is it's evil
it's white nationalism its bigotry and it's unacceptable and if he doesn't do
that then we can continue to answer the question of why but I believe he has a
chance to do that today Ivanka called this white nationalism she called it out
today the president needs to do so as well you are on the front end of
Republican criticism of this yesterday but I have to say Donald Trump on this
show February 2016 refused to condemn or disavow in any way David Duke the Klan
white supremacists are you really surprised that a year and a half later
his refusal to call out white supremacists is is out there and it's an
issue I mean it's the same thing he showed a year and a half ago on the show
well I think that is why today the president he's make it very clear while
calling out racism while calling out bigotry that he has a chance to show the
American people who really is to blame for this there is no sort of
multi-dimensional facet to this evil there's no sort of read between the
lines moment that we have the president needs to stand up and say just as he has
in places around the globe this is domestic terrorism it is unacceptable
and it was led by people who thrive on hate and thrive on racism and it's
unacceptable in the United States of America you're the chairman of the
National Republican Senatorial Committee that's the campaign arm of Senate
Republicans do you want all Republican candidates around the country to join
you in saying these were white supremacists and this was domestic
terrorism what is it about Republicans or Democrats this is about anybody with
any common sense decency and dignity for human life and the values that we hold
as a country our constitutional rights this is about Republicans Democrats
greens anybody in between to say this is wrong we don't stand for that this
country has made great mistakes in the past that led to a civil war we've
overcome them we've apologized for them and we should continue to do everything
we can in our power to never let them happen again and yes there is pain that
remains and yes there are great mistakes that we still make as a nation but we
cannot let them go unanswered we can't let them go unlabeled we can't let them
go unnoticed we have to admit them we have to make up for them and then we
have to do what is right and that's what this country can do today that's what
the president can do today and I would encourage him to do what he has done
around the globe calling out people for their acts of evil let's do it today
white nationalist White's to prison which is supremacist we will not stand
for the racism their bigotry and their hatred on Saturday President Trump said
that we must off quote cherish our history tom Perriello is the former
Democratic congressman from Charlottesville he heard that as a dog
whistle he tweeted quote we must all cherish our history did Donald Trump
just dog whistle support for the Klan's main goal of the hate rally ie to
protest the Lee statue the statue of Robert Ely did you hear cherish our
history as a dog whistle senator you know I did not hear the statement but
what I will share with you is it's something that I read again reread for
the Marion Konishi who was a Japanese interned in Colorado 18 year old
valedictorian of an internment camp in Colorado during a very dark time of our
history when we took US citizens and put them into internment camps in her
statement and her valedictorian speech that she gave at this at Colorado
internment camp she said this is a country that has learned from its past
and it has made up for those mistakes and that's exactly what we have to do we
have to learn from our history and we have to make sure that we look at those
moments in history and say yes that happened in this country but we can no
longer allow it to happen and I hope that's what he meant
I didn't hear that statement but what we have to do in this country is recognize
the mistakes of our past and that we as a great nation will learn from them and
move on from them and not repeat them it's governor chris christie who you
cited earlier today once said it's hard to hate up close and that's what we have
to do in this nation we have to realize that we cannot allow that hate to fester
it's hard to hate up close let's get to know our communities let's get to know
one another that's good to know the issues that drive all of us and then we
can overcome this hate that seems to be festering right now and why this
president needs to say enough is enough hatred hatred racism will not be
tolerated

GOP senator condemns white nationalists (full interview)

Latest Posts