Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., on Sunday rebuked President Donald Trump for having the “gall and nerve” to use a controversial remark about black voters as a campaign trail weapon.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the African-American lawmaker — reportedly among the possible contenders for Biden’s choice of a running mate — said the former Vice President was wrong in making the remark Friday during an interview on the radio show Breakfast Club.
“The vice-president shouldn’t have said it,” she said of the remark that “you ain’t black” if a voter is waffling over whether to vote for him or Trump.
“But I really think the gall and the nerve of President Trump to try to use this in his campaign, he who has since day one done everything in his power, supported by his enablers, to divide this country, particularly along racial lines...” she said.
“Look, let’s talk about race because we definitely need to, we see it in housing, we see it in voting rights, we see it in healthcare, we see it in education. Mr President, let’s do have a serious conversation about race in America and how about working for all people that you are supposed to represent, not just the privileged few.”
Biden has committed to choosing a woman for a running mate, and many – including the interviewer who elicited the remark Friday, radio host Charlamagne tha God – think the running mate should also be African American.
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