MSNBC host Tiffany Cross challenged former Ohio State Senator and congressional candidate Nina Turner during The Cross Connection on Saturday over Turner’s controversial comments on the presidential election.
Turner, a former Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign co-chair, was interviewed in a July 27 article from The Atlantic where she voiced her disdain with the choices of outgoing President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden.
“It’s like saying to somebody, ‘You have a bowl of shit in front of you, and all you’ve got to do is eat half of it instead of the whole thing.’ It’s still sh-t,” Turner said at the time.
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When Cross asked Turner about her comments regarding Biden and the ability to work with his administration, Turner said her reaction stemmed from the amount of people who were suffering.
“Sometimes I can be a hell raiser humanitarian and sometimes I can be a little brazen at times but no one can question my integrity for standing up for the people,” Turner said. “In that moment I was just thinking about the suffering of people, the lack of healthcare, and especially in a pandemic where we know we absolutely need to have universal healthcare in this country.”
Turner furthered emphasized that “disagreement does not mean you cannot work with someone” and noted during the 2019 presidential debates Vice President-elect Kamala Harris called out Biden for his record on race.
“That is just one example how you can have fierce disagreement with somebody, you can go hard with somebody or ‘HAM’ – as the young people say – and still be able to work with people. And I have a proven record of doing that,” Turner said.
She emphasized that despite her comments, she declared during the segment that she “will and can work with anybody that is willing to stand up for the least of these: the poor, the working poor, and the barely middle class in this country.”
Cross also noted Turner’s criticism of the Democratic party and asked if she’s a Democrat.
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“My loyalty, Tiffany, overall is to the people that I have served and will continue to serve and not necessarily to a party, and those things are not mutually exclusive,” Turner said. “Yes, being a part of the Democratic party is important but having a vision that provides provision for the people in being willing to stand up.”
According to Mediaite, Turner is running for Congress and is pursuing a Democratic seat in the House of Representatives.
Turner officially submitted documentation on Dec. 9 according to FEC records that reads, “Nina Turner for US.”
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