A black Missouri state senator who said she hoped President Donald Trump would be assassinated is now calling for reparations for blacks because of slavery.
During the debate over a tax bill on April 17, Democrat Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal (University City) took to the Senate floor at the state capital in Jefferson City to demand that the state pass a reparations policy. Chappelle-Nadal also criticized members of her own party for not joining in her effort, the Kansas City Star reported.
Chappelle-Nadal insisted that Democrats like Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are “no different” than Republicans who generally oppose reparations for slavery.
“Neither one of them give a heck about the black community, only the votes,” Chappelle-Nadal said during her comments on the floor of the Senate.
Chappelle-Nadal was motivated by emails and phone calls from constituents on the issue, saying, “When I’m getting a single mother of three children calling me trying to find a place to live because they don’t have a place to live, that’s what’s on my mind today and every single day.”
The senator also insisted that black Missourians—including her own ancestors—don’t get enough for their past work, saying, “In Boone County, Missouri, in Callaway County, Missouri—what my family contributed to making the state what it is today is incredible, and my family deserves way more than what it is getting today.”
Chappelle-Nadal was in the news last August when she posted to social media her hopes that President Trump would be assassinated.
After a backlash ensued, Chappelle-Nadal backed off and apologized for the post, but said she had no intention of resigning over the incident.
“I am not resigning. … What I said was wrong, but I am not going to stop talking about what led to that, which is the frustration and anger that many people across America are feeling right now,” she said.
Chappelle-Nadal found few of her fellow legislators to come to her side during her attack on Trump. Even Democrats like McCaskill and Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO 1st District) said she should resign for her comments.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.