Kamlager-Dove Discusses Trump Target Letter, Expungement Vote, Black History on MSNBC With Lindsey Reiser
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 23, 2023
Media Contact: Maya Valentine | maya.valentine@mail.house.gov
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) joined Lindsey Reiser on MSNBC's "Yasmin Vossoughian Reports" to discuss the target letter sent to Donald Trump, House Republican attempts to bring an expungement vote to the Floor, and Florida's new Black history curriculum. Below are excerpts from her interview and a link to the video.
To watch the full interview, click here.
ON TRUMP TARGET LETTER
"Well, Donald Trump has a very full dance card, doesn't he? I mean, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to defraud, and civil rights violations. We know, and it’s on tape, that he called Georgia state officials and said, ‘find me 11,780 votes.’ You know, denying a free and fair election to millions of Georgians but also to the tens of millions of Americans that did not vote for him. Then when he lost, he decided to try to incite a coup, you know, calling on his hodgepodge militia of QAnoners and dark web conspirators to attempt to overthrow a government because he lost, and really now, I think this is about finding ways to foment distrust in so many of these agencies like the DOJ, the FBI, the CIA, and the IRS who are doing their jobs [and] investigating him. He is trying to turn the American people against these institutions."
ON REPUBLICANS' EXPUNGEMENT VOTE
"Absolutely not. These people are out of their minds. I mean, Kevin McCarthy is the hostage-in-chief. I don't know that he’s in control of anything that is happening. They can call a vote. I hope they do call a vote because there are two dozen Republicans that are in very vulnerable seats, so let’s force the vote on them, and they can have a reckoning in 2024. Once again, this potential vote, if it does come up, and also the crazy hearings that we are having against all of these institutions, is another way to try and discredit the government. And…might I remind you that Jeff Sessions was a United States Senator, you know, a senior Senator – venerable, and he gave up that position to become AG. He wasn't selling timeshares. He was taking over an institution that was credible, that had authority, and that was trustworthy, and then all of a sudden, all these things are called into question – I think not."
ON DONALD TRUMP
"I mean, he’s threatening folks. Again, this is a vain and vengeful man, so you either kiss his butt, or if you stand up for democracy, he finds ways to come after you. It's interesting that the civil rights language used in what Jack Smith wrote is the same language that was used to go after the KKK and white supremacists – sweet irony."
ON FLORIDA'S BLACK HISTORY CURRICULUM
"Yeah, so, so many turds in a punchbowl to talk about today. [The Congressional Black Caucus is] here in New York. We ended our trip at the Brooklyn Library looking at an exhibition, a repository of history, of fiction, of literature, so that people can read and share and learn, and here you have a man who went to elite institutions, got a well-rounded, comprehensive education that allowed him to run and become the Governor of Florida, and now run to become president. His education included Black history, and so, the same things that he has benefited from, he is trying to deny others. Of course what he said is racist, of course what he said is wrong, but we have to continue to push back on these tactics [that] scare young people and weaponize them and their ability to grow by trying to deny folks history that we all should be learning."
"[Vice President Kamala Harris] was right on and might I remind you, I sit on [the] Natural Resources [Committee], and in my Committee just last week, I had a Republican tell me that ‘I should be grateful to Republicans because Lincoln freed the slaves.'"
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