Friday on CNN’s “Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer,” while discussing the recent announcements of President-elect Donald picks of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) for Attorney General and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser, the second Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) said, “The folks he’s surrounding himself with has caused me to grow even more suspicious of his actions as a president. He’s dog whistling to these groups in a way that is disturbing.”
Partial transcript as follows:
BLITZER: We did hear from some of these white supremacist groups. They thought it was like White Christmas already. When you hear that, that’s disturbing.
CARSON: Well, I’m not dreaming of that kind of a Christmas. I’m dreaming of the kind of Christmas that will bring joy to the world. I think those white supremacists, many who have threatened members of congress, including myself, I hope that Mr. Trump is well aware, I commend him for his condemnations, but the folks he’s surrounding himself with has caused me to grow even more suspicious of his actions as a president. He’s dog whistling to these groups in a way that is disturbing. It’s causing unrest around the country. So my instincts tell me that 2018 could be a referendum year on Congress.
BLITZER: When you say you’ve been threatened, what does that mean?
CARSON: I’ve received numerous death threats because of my faith. Some have called me a Trojan horse and those sort of things because of my work on the Intel Committee. I’m a former police officer. I worked in the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, counter-terror, counter-intelligence. I’m the only member of congress who has worked in an intelligence fusion center. So I’m very proud of my work, but at the same time, I’ve been critical of Mr. Trump and his appointments so far. But I’ve met President Trump, but going forward, if we really want to make this country great and keep it great, we have to get away from this mythology of some Camelot that never existed where America was all white, minorities didn’t exist religious minorities weren’t present. That is a destructive mythology that has had huge and terrible implications.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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