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Republican congressman Mike Kelly defends Trump, says, 'I'm a person of color. I'm white.' [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Republican congressman defends Trump, says, ‘I’m a person of color. I’m white.’
By Colby Itkowitz July 17 at 4:43 PM
Ahead of the House vote Tuesday to condemn President Trump’s racist tweets about four female Democratic lawmakers of color, a Republican congressman dismissed the outrage by claiming that he’s white and, therefore, a “person of color” as well.
“I think we’re going way beyond the pale right now. They talk about people of color. I’m a person of color. I’m white. I’m an Anglo-Saxon,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) told Vice News in a brief exchange on Capitol Hill.
“Has anybody ever told you to go back to your country?” the reporter asked.
“Yeah, they have actually. With a name like Mike Kelly, you can’t be from any place else but Ireland,” Kelly said, adding that it didn’t offend him because he has “thicker skin.”
On Wednesday, Kelly expanded on what he meant.
“My broader point in the five-minute long exchange was apparently lost, so let me say it again,” Kelly said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. “It’s time to stop fixating on our differences — particularly our superficial ones — and focus on what unites us. Attempts by Democrats and the media to divide and define us by race are harmful to our nation’s strength. We need to elevate our level of discussion, and I believe most Americans agree.”
-snip-
By Colby Itkowitz July 17 at 4:43 PM
Ahead of the House vote Tuesday to condemn President Trump’s racist tweets about four female Democratic lawmakers of color, a Republican congressman dismissed the outrage by claiming that he’s white and, therefore, a “person of color” as well.
“I think we’re going way beyond the pale right now. They talk about people of color. I’m a person of color. I’m white. I’m an Anglo-Saxon,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) told Vice News in a brief exchange on Capitol Hill.
“Has anybody ever told you to go back to your country?” the reporter asked.
“Yeah, they have actually. With a name like Mike Kelly, you can’t be from any place else but Ireland,” Kelly said, adding that it didn’t offend him because he has “thicker skin.”
On Wednesday, Kelly expanded on what he meant.
“My broader point in the five-minute long exchange was apparently lost, so let me say it again,” Kelly said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. “It’s time to stop fixating on our differences — particularly our superficial ones — and focus on what unites us. Attempts by Democrats and the media to divide and define us by race are harmful to our nation’s strength. We need to elevate our level of discussion, and I believe most Americans agree.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-congressman-defends-trump-says-im-a-person-of-color-im-white/2019/07/17/f125d212-a8ca-11e9-86dd-d7f0e60391e9_story.html
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Vice News
REPUBLICANS WON’T CALL TRUMP RACIST — BUT ONE SAID WHITE PEOPLE ARE “PEOPLE OF COLOR”
By Cameron Joseph and Daniel Newhauser Jul 16, 2019
WASHINGTON — Republicans aren’t all thrilled about President Trump’s latest racist remarks — but what was beyond the pale for most of them was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling them racist on the House floor.
GOP lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill grudgingly defended the president’s tweets and comments that their four nonwhite Democratic colleagues should “go back” to where they came from, that they “hate our country” and claims that they’re “pro-terrorist” on Tuesday.
-snip-
Most rank-and-file Republicans showed little interest in taking on Trump, accusing “The Squad” — freshman congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley — of being anti-Semitic as justification for his remarks or shrugging them off as no big deal.
“You know, they talk about people of color. I'm a person of color. I'm white. I'm an Anglo Saxon. People say things all the time, but I don't get offended,” Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Mike Kelly told VICE News before the blowup over Pelosi’s comments. “‘With a name like Mike Kelly you can’t be from any place else but Ireland.’”
-snip-
By Cameron Joseph and Daniel Newhauser Jul 16, 2019
WASHINGTON — Republicans aren’t all thrilled about President Trump’s latest racist remarks — but what was beyond the pale for most of them was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling them racist on the House floor.
GOP lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill grudgingly defended the president’s tweets and comments that their four nonwhite Democratic colleagues should “go back” to where they came from, that they “hate our country” and claims that they’re “pro-terrorist” on Tuesday.
-snip-
Most rank-and-file Republicans showed little interest in taking on Trump, accusing “The Squad” — freshman congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley — of being anti-Semitic as justification for his remarks or shrugging them off as no big deal.
“You know, they talk about people of color. I'm a person of color. I'm white. I'm an Anglo Saxon. People say things all the time, but I don't get offended,” Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Mike Kelly told VICE News before the blowup over Pelosi’s comments. “‘With a name like Mike Kelly you can’t be from any place else but Ireland.’”
-snip-
Read more: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/8xzynp/republicans-wont-call-trump-racist-but-one-said-white-people-are-people-of-color
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