Dem Rep Ellison: Trump ‘Lies About His Own Bigotry’

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “lies about his own bigotry.”

Ellison said, “We’ll see. He said he was open to immigration reform. This guy wants to build a wall and build it higher. I think the stakes are incredibly high for everybody here. Trump has suppressed press freedom. He has said punch people in the face. He has made open appeals to racism. He’s tried to persecute religious minorities. This is dangerous to the whole republic. I think people ought to take it whole lot more seriously.It’s bigger than an election in my view.”

After a clip of Trump saying his ban on Muslims was a suggestion, Ellison added, “It just goes to prove he lies about his own bigotry. He says he doesn’t know who David Duke is, when he, 10 years before, denounced David Duke. When it was in his interest to play coy in the Louisiana primary, he acts like, ‘Oh, I don’t know who David Duke is.’ He’s not even serious about that. He’s openly appealed to banning Muslims. He didn’t say people from the Muslim world. he said, ban Muslims. Now he’s acting like, I don’t quite mean it that way. He’s not even sincere about his own bigotry. And that is his core strength. he’s supposed to be a truth-teller, authentic. He’s neither one of those.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN