Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says there’s ‘no question’ whether Trump is racist because of his use of ‘historic dog whistles of white supremacy’
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was sworn into House of Representatives this week
- Rising Democratic star gave an interview on Sunday to CBS’ 60 Minutes
- She told Anderson Cooper there’s ‘no question’ President Trump is racist
- Ocasio-Cortez mentioned Trump’s response to the Charlottesville incident
- A woman was killed when she was mowed down by a white supremacist
- Trump responded by saying there were ‘fine people on both sides’
Newly sworn-in House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Sunday that there’s ‘no question’ whether or not Donald Trump is a racist.
Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat who stunned the political world by winning her party primary last year against an establishment politician, was asked by Anderson Cooper of CBS’ 60 Minutes whether she believed the president ‘is a racist?’
‘Yeah. Yeah. No question,’ Ocasio-Cortez replied.
‘When you look at the words that he uses, which are historic dog whistles of white supremacy,’ Ocasio-Cortez said.
‘When you look at how he reacted to the Charlottesville incident, where neo-Nazis murdered a woman, versus how he manufactures crises like immigrants seeking legal refuge on our borders, it’s night and day.’
Newly sworn-in House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Sunday that there’s ‘no question’ President Donald Trump is a racist
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York’s 14th District (parts of Queens and the Bronx), said Trump was a ‘symptom of a problem.’
‘The President certainly didn’t invent racism,’ Ocasio-Cortez said, ‘but he’s certainly given a voice to it and expanded it and created a platform for those things.’
Trump ‘has repeatedly condemned racism and bigotry in all forms,’ according to the White House
The White House responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, saying: ‘Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s sheer ignorance on the matter can’t cover the fact that President Trump supported and passed historic criminal justice reform.’
Trump ‘has repeatedly condemned racism and bigotry in all forms,’ according to the White House.
In August 2017, a large group of white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate hero General Robert E. Lee.
During a counter-demonstration by anti-fascist protesters, a young woman was mowed down by a white supremacist motorist. She died from her injuries.
When asked about Charlottesville, Trump did not explicitly condemn the white nationalists.
He denounced ‘hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides.’
The President also said there were ‘very fine people on both sides’ – the implication being that white supremacists and those protesting against them were on an equal footing.
Trump has also used harsh language to describe migrants, saying many of them were ‘gang members’ and ‘invaders.’
The President has also been quoted as saying that MS-13, the gang made up of migrants from Central America, were made up of ‘animals.’
In January, he was quoted as telling lawmakers that migrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and Africa were from ‘s***hole countries.’
‘Why do we need more Haitians?’ Trump was quoted as saying by The Washington Post.
‘Take them out.’