Turning Point USA (TPUSA) activist and student Zach Doehermann told Breitbart News that multiple 2020 Democrat primary presidential candidates claimed that they did not know what Antifa was after being asked if they would denounce the organization widely known for terrorizing conservatives. Doehermann joined host SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily Alex Marlow in a Wednesday interview for TPUSA’s weekly campus report.
“Antifa is obviously a disgusting organization. They’ve been in the news a lot lately, and you never really hear people on the left denouncing them,” said Doehermann, who added that TPUSA activists decided to ask Democrats at the Iowa State Fair whether they would denounce Antifa. “We thought it was very topic, very relevant to the current news cycle.”
“It was really interesting to see who actually did denounce, and who didn’t,” added Doehermann. “Kirsten Gillibrand — she didn’t know who they were.”
Listen below:
“Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington,” continued Doehermann, “you’d think with all the stuff that’s going on in Portland, [that] he would’ve condemned them right away, but he was like, ‘Oh, who is Antifa? I’ve never heard of them before.'”
“It’s a terrible sign, because either he is living under a rock, or he’s lying,” reacted Marlow.
“The funny thing about the ones who actually did somewhat denounce [Antifa] — and I don’t think any one of them actually expressly said, ‘Hey, I denounce Antifa.’ It was all, ‘Oh, yeah, I denounce all violence on all sides,’ which is not a bad answer — I think any decent person can do that,” noted the TPUSA activist.
Doehermann was recently featured in a montage video, which showed TPUSA activists approaching several 2020 Democrat primary presidential candidates at the Iowa State Fair, to ask them the question regarding Antifa.
View the video below:
Below are a few of the answers heard in the video from Democrats responding to whether they would condemn Antifa:
“I don’t know what Antifa is,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
“Tell me about Antifa, tell me who Antifa is so I can tell you whether that person should be condemned or not,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who later claimed, “I was thinking you were thinking of an individual,” and added, “I don’t know exactly this organization you’re referring to, but if it’s the one I’m thinking of, then yes.”
“Thanks a lot for the question,” laughed Democrat primary presidential candidate Julián Castro in response to whether he would denounce Antifa.
“No, I’m not denouncing anybody,” answered Democrat primary presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NY) refused to answer whether he would condemn Antifa.
The TPUSA activist — who attends Central College in Iowa — also shared his thoughts on how he believes students on campus view the leftist dogma that is showcased today in so many aspects of American society.
“You can feel a shift in the attitudes of young people,” said Doehermann. “Conservatism and Libertarianism — it’s the new ‘punk rock,’ if you want to call it that. I mean, kids, they don’t like rules, they just want to be left alone.”
“Obviously — and especially in a liberal arts school — leftism is just embedded in everything,” added Doehermann, “but I’ve seen some really encouraging stuff, and I don’t think it’s going to be like this forever.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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