On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Representative Cedric Richmond (D-LA) argued that President Trump’s statement earlier in the day came too late and that President Trump still uses “coded language” like rhetoric about “law and order.”
Richmond said that President Trump’s statement earlier that day was too little, too late. He added that if Trump’s Monday statement had come earlier, “it would have been a pretty strong response, but he still throws words out there to that base, that — the law and order rhetoric that he uses, that same rhetoric during the campaign that was aimed at minorities and urban communities. So, he did a much better job in calling out the KKK and neo-Nazis and white supremacists by name. However, I still think that he still uses that coded language to his base that he is so delicately trying not to lose.”
He later added that the car attack is a “clear” case of domestic terrorism and should be investigated as one. Richmond continued that he has concerns over a DOJ running the investigation considering that it “does not have the track record or the history of prosecuting civil rights violations, standing up for minorities, and protecting equality. … So, he [AG Jeff Sessions] will have a very clear test right now, and we will continue to monitor it, and we will continue to play a big part in holding his feet to the fire, but I do have real concerns on how vigorously this will be prosecuted and to what extent that we will look at how the initial rally got started, who are those people affiliated with. So, it’s more than just the driver of the car. It’s a whole movement out there that I think that the Department of Justice should be looking into. Because I think that this is not going to be an isolated event.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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