‘They Hate Us’: Elie Mystal Says Republicans’ ‘Hatred of Black Folks’ Is Why Tennessee Legislature Expelled Black Lawmakers

Elie Mystal boiled Thursday’s actions of Tennessee’s Republican legislators against two Black lawmakers down to three simple words: “They hate us.”

The attorney and political commentator told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, “There is no accounting for vitriol, Chris, there’s no accounting for hate. The reason why these people, these Republicans, cannot take winning for an answer, is because they hate us.”

Mystal made the comments following the expulsion of two Black members of the Tennessee legislature because they “broke House rules” when they protested against gun violence on the House floor. The protest was prompted by the March 27 school shooting in Nashville that took the lives of three children and three adults.

A third member of the “Tennessee Three,” as they’ve become known, who is White, was not expelled from the House. All three are Democrats.

Mystal said he knows it’s hard for White people to accept, but, “what the racism comes from is hatred of Black folks. And that is why, despite winning, despite being on top, despite controlling so many of the levers of power, you consistently have Republicans shooting themselves in the foot… they’re willing to shoot themselves in the foot if that shot can go through and hit a Black person because that is the level of hate they feel for our people and we all know it, we all understand it. Black people understand what we are up against all the time.

“This is just one of those rare situations where White people are getting to see it out in the open, just how desperately they hate us, just how much they do not believe that we should be allowed to be equal citizens in this country.”

Mystal went a step further to explain it is precisely this “White male grievance” that former president Donald Trump exploits, “to make himself the leader of the Republican Party. It is hatred. And I know, again The New York Times [says], ‘This is just racially charged.’ No. They hate us and this is what hate looks like.”

Watch above via MSNBC.