Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) either blatantly lied or revealed he has no reading comprehension skills whatsoever on the House floor on Wednesday morning. The bombastic Illinois Democrat falsely accused Breitbart News of reporting that Gutierrez was inciting “violence” when he told attendees at a Chicago church on Saturday that he wanted to non-violently “eliminate” President Donald Trump through the impeachment process and bring Trump to his knees like Gandhi did to the British empire.
Breitbart News did no such thing.
“So, I went back to the video to see if I threatened to assassinate the President and you know what? I didn’t,” Gutierrez said on the House floor even though Breitbart News’ story did not mention anything about assassination. “So what Breitbart imagined as an incitement to violence was really a call to action for people to get involved in their democracy, which, last time I looked, is still the form of government we aspire to in this country and still non-violent.”
All Gutierrez had to do was read the very first paragraph to realize that Breitbart News was not imagining Gutierrez inciting violence in any way. The lede in the Breitbart News story, which is also bolded and in bigger font, read (emphasis added):
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) denounced President Donald Trump on Saturday as a “major criminal” who must be peacefully “eliminated” and brought to his knees after Democrats take back the House of Representatives and begin the impeachment process.
If the lede was not enough for him, Gutierrez, since he acknowledged on the House floor that he relies on Breitbart News–like the outlet’s 45 million unique monthly readers–for coverage of his speeches and events, could have read the second paragraph, which read (emphasis added):
Fuming and furious at the thought that Trump could end former President Barack Obama’s executive amnesties and impact 1.2 million who did not have “papers,” Gutierrez tore into Trump at Chicago’s Lincoln United Methodist Church, vowing to “resist” Trump non-violently with “everything possible.”
Gutierrez either did not read Breitbart News’ story–he did admit that he merely “read the headlines in Breitbart” and “went back to look at what” he actually said–or just decided to lie.
The Congressman was angry that “a lot of Trump supporters got angry about what I said Saturday” and said “they didn’t take the time to watch or listen to the speech.” He accused other outlets of misrepresenting his words by not fully reading Breitbart News’ completely accurately story just like Gutierrez did not fully read the Breitbart News story.
“They got fired up by Breitbart, the only publication I can count on to cover everything I say,” he said, acknowledging the influence Breitbart News has in shaping the news cycle. Breitbart News watched the speech twice and was one of the first–if not the first–outlet to report on Gutierrez’s fiery address.
Gutierrez took issue with Breitbart News’ headline, which read: “Luis Gutierrez Unhinged: Time to ‘Eliminate’ ‘Criminal’ Trump–Bring Him to His Knees.”
Gutierrez then said he was not talking about “assassination,” which Breitbart News never mentioned, and was instead talking about the impeachment process. He said since former President Bill Clinton is still alive, the impeachment process is non-violent and selectively quoted (and misquoted) himself when he read some lines from his speech (it looks like Breitbart News quotes Gutierrez more accurately than he does, which is why he may have admitted that he relies on Breitbart News to cover his speeches and events):
I am going to make sure that I am there to make sure of one thing… That we write those articles of impeachment and take [the Trump Administration] to trial before the Senate and eliminate him as president of the United States of America.
“That is the quote and clearly I am talking about the impeachment process, which I believe to be non-violent,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez conveniently left out the part where he referred to Trump as a “major criminal.” Here is what Gutierrez said in full on Saturday, as Breitbart News accurately reported:
“For me, the major criminal that exists in the United States of America is called Donald Trump—he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House,” Gutierrez thunderously said. “And we’re going to take actions today, and we’re going to take actions tomorrow. And there will soon be a majority in the House of Representatives, and I am going to make sure that I am there, to make sure of one thing, that we write those articles of impeachment and take him to trial before the Senate and eliminate him as president of the United States of America.”
Gutierrez, again taking issue with Breitbart News’ headline (“Bring Him to His Knees”) and what he claimed was this “whole blood-thirsty-brown-people motif,” said, “what I actually said was that Gandhi, by employing the techniques and practices of non-violent resistance, brought the British Empire to its knees, which is true. And we should learn from his example.”
Again, Breitbart News quoted Gutierrez accurately in its original story (emphasis added):
“Gandhi took on … the greatest British empire non-violently with love in his heart … and he brought them down to their knees,” Gutierrez said. “We can do the same thing to Donald Trump in the United States of America if we’re ready to do it.”
“So I read the headlines in Breitbart and I went back to look at what I actually said,” Gutierrez said, concluding his hissy fit riddled with lies. “And you know what? I stand by it. And I won’t back down.”
Gutierrez may have tried to smear Breitbart News because he may be upset that Breitbart News often reminds him that he once predicted that George W. Bush would be the last GOP president if Republicans did not join him to pass massive comprehensive amnesty legislation.
Read Breitbart News’ original story here. Watch Rep. Gutierrez’s Saturday speech in full below as Breitbart News did. Watch Gutierrez’s Wednesday morning speech on the House floor here. And decide whether Gutierrez lied or is just illiterate.