Pelosi says rioters chose ‘whiteness’ over democracy
Pelosi said that Trump's involvement in the violence at the Capitol would not be overlooked
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Saturday that the rioters who took part in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday chose their “whiteness” over democracy.
The comment that was made during an online video meeting with constituents in San Francisco, came after Pelosi acknowledged the number of people who died of COVID-19 on Wednesday and Thursday, both of which were records for single-day coronavirus deaths in the United States, according to The Hill.
Pelosi stated that a disproportionate number of those who died were people of color, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said are more likely to succumb to COVID-19.
“When that assault was taking place on the Capitol, 3,865 people in our country died of the coronavirus, many of them people of color because of the injustice of it all,” Pelosi said.
Read More: Why does Black America have more COVID-19 deaths? Racism.
“The next day, on Thursday, 4,000 people died of the coronavirus. Why? Because decisions were made at the highest level, months before in the Oval Office, of denial, distortion, delay, calling it a ‘hoax.’”
After speaking about the COVID-19 death rate, Pelosi switched gears and remarked that January 6 [the day of the Capitol riots] is also “The Feast of the Epiphany,” a holiday celebrated among Christians. The holiday is also known as “Three Kings Day.”
“I thought it was going to be an epiphany for those who were in opposition of our democracy to see the light,” Pelosi said. “Instead, it was an epiphany for the world to see that there are people in our country, led by this President, for the moment, who have chosen their whiteness over democracy. That’s what this is about.”
Read More: Trump cabinet members consider 25th amendment after deadly Capitol riots
At the conclusion of her remarks, Pelosi mentioned that President Donald Trump’s involvement in the violence at the Capitol would not be overlooked, and she hinted that the president would soon have his reckoning.
“This cannot be exaggerated. Not only the complicity, the instigation of the President of the United States, must and will be addressed,” Pelosi finished. “It’s only a number of days now before we inaugurate a new President.”
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