Wisconsin Lt Governor Blasts Ron Johnson’s ‘Racist’ Comments: GOP Has to Run on Racism Because They Cant Win on Ideas
Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes (D) blasted Sen. Ron Johnson for his recent comments on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack — condemning him “for saying the racist part out loud.”
CNN’s John King first introduced the topic by joking that Johnson “is in the news again because he’s talking again.”
First slamming the senator for being a “consistent source of misinformation and conspiracy about the January 6th insurrection,” the CNN anchor went on to note that, “now racism is the issue.”
Reminding viewers that there were chants from rioters to hang former Vice President Mike Pence amid an insurrection, King played audio of Johnson claiming to have “never really felt threatened” during the Capitol attack because, “I knew those were people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, and so I wasn’t concerned.”
The senator continued to say that if the protesters “were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned.”
King later welcomed Barnes, pointing to the fact that Johnson felt safe because the rioters “looked like me” but would have felt at risk if the rioters “looked like you.”
“Maybe we should give the guy credit for saying the racist part out loud,” Barnes joked. He’s certainly done more than many of his colleagues have done in terms of being bold in that way. But the fact is Senator Johnson represents a culture that inherently sees Black people as a threat, even though there was an officer that lost his life, there was a threat to hang Vice President Mike Pence. And maybe he wasn’t afraid because effectively Ron Johnson was a marshal of the insurrection, calling into doubt or calling into question the election results.”
Barnes went on to blast Johnson as a “relic of the Trump era,” mocking him for getting more ridiculous every day.
“I think he wants a reward for his racism because, as we know, Donald Trump has gained in popularity because of racism,” Barnes continued. “And people aren’t — Republicans aren’t winning elections without racism these days across the United States of America. Ron Johnson is just trying to hold on.”
King later asked Barnes if he is considering running for senator, noting that Johnson has not confirmed if he will be on the next ballot.
“At this point, we’re working hard on the budget. Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan and we’re trying to sign a budget into law that provides opportunity for the people across the state of Wisconsin. That’s where our focus is going to be. We just put out a comprehensive, bold climate action plan, the most aggressive and the ambitious agenda the state has ever seen before. And I want to see a lot of that work through,” Barnes replied, not giving a straight answer, yet still clarifying that his priorities lie in Covid-19 relief plans.
Satisfied by the response, King switched back to discussing Johnson’s comments, calling the racism “pretty transparent” before asking how Johnson could determine that the rioters loved the United States despite the clear destruction to the Capitol and their desire to hunt down representatives.
“I think it’s very deliberate, and I don’t know what his definition of love is but I also don’t know what side he’s on. He’s certainly not on the side of the American people. He’s certainly not on the side of the government, a seat in which he sits which is the wild part about this,” Barnes concluded.
“These people were storming the Capitol and they wanted blood and he did not see a problem with that. And like I said before he’s effectively cheerleaded this sort of activity, and I’m just as confused as you are. He does not represent the values of the state of Wisconsin at all. He’s not done so since his election in 2010 and certainly doesn’t reflect where we should be headed as a nation and the stability we need to come together to unite as a country to be our best selves. Ron Johnson doesn’t represent any of that.”
Watch above, via CNN.
