Rep. Donald McEachin blasts Mitch McConnell for comments about voters of color

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Virginia Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin condemned the remark in a letter to the Kentucky Republican, saying, “I am writing today in response to your recent suffrage comment in which you insinuated that African -Americans are somehow not American citizens.”

“It’s 2022 and being American is not synonymous with looking like you or thinking like you. African Americans are, in fact, American citizens who deserve our recognition, respect, and equal protection under the law.”

At the weekly Republican leadership press conference on Wednesday, Latino Rebels reporter Pablo Manrquez asked McConnell what his message was to voters of color who feared they might not be able to vote midterm if Congress did not pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. .

“Well, the concern is misplaced because if you look at the statistics, African American voters vote in as high a percentage as Americans,” McConnell said. “According to a recent poll, 94% of Americans thought it was easy to vote. This is not a problem. The participation rate is on the rise.

Asked by CNN if the senator left out a word in his comment, a spokesperson for his office said McConnell meant “other Americans” and not just “Americans.”

The apparent inaccuracy drew heavy criticism from the left, with groups using the Twitter hashtag #MitchPlease to address the Republican leader.

“It definitely gives #MitchPlease. African Americans are Americans, 365 days a year!” read a tweet posted by the Congressional Black Caucus account.

McConnell, in a statement provided to CNN on Thursday by his team, said he “consistently highlighted the record high turnout of all voters in the 2020 election, including African Americans.”

This isn’t the first time McConnell has come under fire for comments regarding issues of race and racial discrimination in America.

In 2019, when asked about his stance on reparations for slavery ahead of a landmark House hearing on the issue, he said, among other things, “We elected an African-American president.” The response sparked outrage, with some saying he suggested the country had paid for “the sin of slavery” by electing Barack Obama.

And last year, when asked about the filibuster’s racial history, McConnell replied, “There is no racial history at all. None.”

“For more than a century, the filibuster was widely understood to be primarily about upholding white supremacy and blocking civil rights,” said Adam Jentleson, author of “Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senator. and the Crippling of Democracy”. time.

A spokesperson for McConnell later clarified that the senator is “referring to the origins of the filibuster.”

This story has been updated with a statement from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

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