PHILADELPHIA – Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) said that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s personal views “betray” his rhetoric on radical Islamic terrorism, adding that Trump wants to bring the nation back to a “mythological” time.
Trump has proposed a temporary ban on immigration to the U.S. from countries where Islamic terrorism is spreading. Carson called the plan “un-American.”
“While there are some serious concerns about our internal security, I think it is unpatriotic and un-American to cast dispersions on a single group. I would hope that Secretary Clinton becomes our president but I would hope that Mr. Trump rolls back his rhetoric. He’s had Muslim employees,” the congressman, one of two Muslim lawmakers serving in Congress, told PJM at the Democratic National Convention.
“He’s done business with Muslims throughout his time. So I met Mr. Trump, and I think who he is personally betrays his rhetoric and I hope that he will feel the need, an internal need, I am praying to show he is far more global than he presents himself to be. He’s speaking to disaffected Americans. He’s speaking to anger,” he added.
Carson said Trump is also speaking to “dark-seeded bigotry” with his campaign rhetoric.
“This talk about making our country great again is an attempt to bring us back to some mythological America that never existed and an America that discriminated against African-Americans, Latinos, Jewish brothers and sisters, Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, women, women, women,” he said.
“So I think we should make America the great America that it has always been, but to correct the ills that affect all societies – and that means Secretary Clinton is the best choice for president,” he added.
A Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supporter told Carson at the convention that she still does not trust Clinton. PJM asked Carson, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, why he trusts Clinton’s judgment.
“I think a lot of the climate-change initiatives that you are hearing were initiated under her secretaryship as secretary of State. I think she’s demonstrated a policy depth that Donald Trump has not,” he replied. “I think when you look at her great work in the Senate, she’s concerned about the least of these. She’s concerned about women’s rights. She’s concerned about economic development – her work as first lady of the U.S. and her work as first lady of Arkansas. Hillary Clinton is battle-tested.”
Carson continued, “Consciously and unconsciously there’s a gender bias there.”
“So for a white brother, these things that are far worse are acceptable. For a woman they are unacceptable, so I think as a society we have a lot of psychological baggage as it relates to gender roles. And I think as a dad of a 9-year-old girl, Secretary Clinton will shatter that wall, too, and glass ceiling to move our country forward,” Carson told PJM.
“I’m excited about the debates. What you will see in the debates is a stark contrast between Trump and Clinton. You’ll see the impulsivity of a Donald Trump. You’ll see a sharpness and the brilliance of a Secretary Clinton and it will be undeniable she’s the best pick for president,” he added.
Carson stressed that the Democratic Party should not “let go of the great progressive agenda” that Sanders pushed forward during the primary.
“I think she’s incorporating a lot of his messages and his supporters will get on board, most of them, because I think at the end of the day Trump means disaster for our country,” he said.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member