Kamala Harris gave a moving and powerful answer when asked about Trump and Vance’s racist lies about Springfield, OH.
Video of Vice President Harris:
Kamala Harris called what Trump and Vance did to Springfield, Ohio with a “crying lie.” Here’s a full and powerful answer when speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists. pic.twitter.com/1SOlJK1iau
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 17, 2024
Harris told the Association of Black Journalists when asked about Springfield:
It was a cry of shame. I mean, my heart breaks for this community.
You know, there’s um, Kids, Elementary School Kids. Whoa, it’s school photo day. Do you remember what it was like? Going to school on drawing day. Well dressed, well prepared, knowing what to wear the night before. And must be evacuated. Children, children. A whole community put in fear.
And I’ll say something about it. One, you know, I learned a lot later in my career, having a background as a prosecutor. When you’re in that position, when you have a microphone like that in front of you, you have to know at a very deep level how much your words mean. I learned at a very young stage in my career, The meaning of my words can impact whether this person is free or in prison.
According to the Attorney General of California, the fifth largest economy in the world. I know very well that my words can move the market.
When you’re given a microphone that big, there’s an important responsibility. This is an extension of what should not be lost at this time. This concept of public trust then knows what public trust means. It means that you are invested with the confidence to take responsibility for the way you use your words, not to mention how you act yourself.
And especially if you’re already running for President of the United States again.
And let me go back to, it’s crying shame, literally what happened to the families, the children in the community that, not to mention what happened in terms, look, you say you care about law enforcement law enforcement resources put to. this is because this is a serious threat that is being issued to the people who lived a productive life, lived a good life before this happened and spewing weak lies in age-old tropes.
And look, I said it’s not too far from here the other day in the debate. This is not new. This is nothing new about these tropes. This is not new where it comes from. And, you know, whether it’s refusing to rent to people, renting to black families, whether it’s taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times against five innocent black and Latino teenagers, the Central Park Five calling for their execution.
Does it show the first black President of the United States with a lie, born a lie. And look, the American people deserve, and I believe want, better than this. I believe that. I know, I know, the majority of us as Americans know that we have more in common than what divides us.
I understand. I know that regardless of people’s background, race, gender, geographic location. I know that people are deeply concerned with what is happening to the community in Springfield, Ohio. And it has to stop. And we have to say that you cannot be trusted to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States who engages in hateful rhetoric that, as always, is designed to divide us as a country, designed to own people. pointing fingers at each other. It was designed to do that. And I think most people in our country, regardless of race, are starting to see through this bullshit. And, and say, you know what, let’s turn this page.
It’s tired and dangerous and hated and, and, and, and it’s based on some old stuff that we shouldn’t tolerate. So let’s turn the page and chart it forward and say, you can’t have that microphone anymore.
Trump and Vance continue to lie about Springfield because they don’t care about what the lie does to the community.
Kamala Harris gives a very powerful and human answer to what happened in Springfield. His point is about how Trump is and Vance’s lie is an abuse of public trust that is not often discussed.
Trump and Vance are trying to destroy immigrants. Kamala Harris told the nation why they should reject the effort.
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Professional Awards and Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
