Joy Reid Asks Black Republican If He Was Nominated for Speaker as a GOP ‘Diversity Statement’

MSNBC’s Joy Reid asked Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) if his Republican colleagues in the House nominated him for speaker last week as a “diversity statement.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally won the gavel early Saturday morning on the 15th ballot after a marathon week of voting. Numerous GOP holdouts voted “present” or for other candidates throughout the historic week as a faction of the party resisted McCarthy.

Donalds was among a handful of Republicans to be nominated numerous times and he received a small level of support.

On Tuesday’s edition of The ReidOut, Donalds joined the program in-studio to talk about the upcoming legislative term and was grilled by the host about his nomination.

“You have been in congress for one term,” Reid said in a hostile tone. “What were your qualifications to be speaker of the House?”

Donalds responded, “I think my colleagues recognize my leadership and have seen it in leaps and bounds.”

The pair went back and forth as Reid demanded her guest explain what the speaker’s job entails. He obliged her and also appeared to take a shot at Rep. Nancy Pelosi (R-CA) in an apparent attempt to blame the Jan. 6 Capitol attack on her.

As Reid repeatedly cut him off, the second-term congressman said, “And the speaker of the House is also responsible for security.”

Reid ignored the comment before she challenged his leadership qualifications.

“You have been there one term,” she said. “And you’re saying that you would be prepared after one term to do the job that Speaker Pelosi and others who were in leadership.”

She later asked, “So, do you not believe that the idea was to make a diversity statement by nominating you?”

Donalds said he was “in the room” when a decision by GOP holdouts to nominate him was made and it had nothing to do with the color of his skin.

Watch above, via MSNBC.