The South Carolina Democratic candidate for senator, Rep. Krystle Matthews, has a fairly dim view of her constituents, as Project Veritas discovered recently.
Matthews sat down with an “undercover journalist” from Project Veritas and proceeded to disparage her constituents — right and black. She said she represented a “mostly white” district, and as far as white voters: “I keep them right here — like under my thumbs. … Otherwise, they get out of control — like kids.”
“You ought to know who you’re dealing with,” Matthews went on to say. “You’ve got to treat them like s—-. That’s the only way they’ll respect you.”
In a statement, Matthews acknowledged her voice on the recording, calling Project Veritas a “satirical MAGA Powered news outlet.”
The compilation also features more of Matthews’ conversation, parts of which were previously published by Project Veritas, in which she spoke to an inmate about funding her campaign with “dope boy money” and having Democrats run as Republicans, saying “secret sleepers” represent “the only way you’re gonna change the dynamics in South Carolina.”
At the time of the earlier release, ahead of South Carolina’s June primary runoff, Matthews confirmed to The Associated Press that it was her voice on the tape but said the edited audio of a “tongue-in-cheek” exchange didn’t reflect the full picture.
Matthews doubled down and said in a statement: “I said what I said.”
Related: Is Senator Tim Scott the Right Running Mate for Trump?
So when I stated to that undercover journalist Chris Williams in that satirical MAGA Powered news outlet Project Veritas, “to treat these MAGA Republicans like SH**.” I SAID WHAT I SAID! Play the whole tape “PROJECT VERITAS,” so the people will know who I was referring to.
South Carolina Democrats, immediately recognizing a dead weight, called on Matthews to step down.
On Thursday, Democrats including gubernatorial nominee Joe Cunningham said he concurred with state Rep. Justin Bamberg, who in an op-ed published online called Matthews “toxic.”
“If any of our white counterparts had said the same thing with regards to blacks, the minority community, including myself, would be up in arms calling for that member’s immediate resignation,” Bamberg added.
In a statement provided to AP, Cunningham said that “there is absolutely no place in our political discourse” for Matthews’ comments, adding that “the Democratic Party cannot and should not tolerate such behavior from our elected officials and candidates.”
It hardly matters who the Democrats put up against GOP incumbent Tim Scott. He’s expected to win big. But if Matthews is the best candidate Democrats can put forward in a key race, the Democratic Party in South Carolina needs some work.
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