Black Congressional Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Calls For Censure of Trump
/I think of the lesson from Maya Angelou: "When people show you who they are - believe them the first time."
Enough is enough.
Gone are the excuses that we need to give this president the "benefit of the doubt."
What we saw in Charlottesville this weekend was more reminiscent of scenes of attack dogs and fire hoses from 1960's civil rights movement than we should expect in 2017. What we saw in Charlottesville was nothing short of disgusting and a stark reminder that our sordid past is not so far gone.
Donald Trump's continued false equivalence following the Charlottesville attacks is dangerous. His remarks on Wednesday from Trump Tower should have been as simple as "racism has no place in this country" -- full stop.
He couldn't even bring himself to that. Instead, Trump has reaffirmed his true sentiments. Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, must stand on the right side of this seminal moment.
Our choice is clear: Congress must censure this president. That is why today, I, along with my colleagues Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) introduced a resolution of censure against President Donald Trump for excusing the violent behavior of white nationalists, Klansmen and Neo-Nazis and what they represent.
His remarks re-asserting that "both sides" were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville has no place in the White House.
Donald Trump's history of stoking racial animosity is as long as it is clear. Donald Trump was sued in the 1970's by the Department of Justice for discriminating against black tenants. Donald Trump called for executing black teenagers for a crime for which they were ultimately exonerated, and maintained his position after they were cleared by DNA evidence. Donald Trump rose to political prominence himself by leading the racist birther conspiracy theories about President Obama that continued into his 2016 presidential campaign. He kicked off his presidential campaign by calling Mexicans rapists and drug dealers.
Despite this disgusting rhetoric, elected officials have disregarded these moral shortcomings, whether for craven political calculation, fear of backlash from the Trump base, or in simple disbelief. [MORE]
