In statements slamming Donald Trump‘s defense counsel, Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett brought the issues of race, misogynoir — and even statehood — to the U.S. Senate floor during Day 4 of Trump’s second impeachment trial.
While presenting their case as to why Trump should be acquitted for the article of impeachment that accuses him of inciting the U.S. Capitol insurrection that occurred on Jan. 6, the former president’s defense lawyers played a video montage of several prominent Democrats using the word “fight” during previous speeches and interviews.
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Trump’s legal team had hoped the strategy would weaken the House impeachment managers’ argument that Trump’s language during the “Save America” rally he held just minutes before the pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, directly incited the violent attack.
Plaskett, who serves as a non-voting delegate in the House representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, took to the podium to address what she appeared to see as racial overtones in the defense counsel’s presentation.
“The defense counsels put a lot of videos out in their defense … playing clip after clip of Black women talking about fighting for a cause or issue or a policy,” said Plaskett, referring to a video that targeted Vice President Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams and Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
“It was not lost on me as so many of them were people of color, and women, and Black women — Black women like myself who are sick and tired of being sick and tired for our children … your children, our children.”
Throughout the impeachment trial, the Trump legal team very often compared the Capitol insurrection to the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred throughout the country last summer.
“[That] summer things happened that were violent, but there were also things that gave some of us Black women great comfort. Seeing Amish people from Pennsylvania standing up with us, members of Congress fighting up with us. So I thought we were past that. I think maybe we’re not.”
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In continuing her remarks, Plaskett also alluded to an often overlooked voting rights issue as it relates to U.S. territories like her constituency in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as D.C. and Puerto Rico. While members representing these U.S. territories are able to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, they do not have the right to vote on legislation.
In fact, despite Congresswoman Plaskett serving as an impeachment manager — the first U.S. delegate to do so in the nation’s history — as a non-voting member of Congress, she was unable to vote to impeach Donald Trump. Plaskett urged U.S. senators to consider what is at stake in their decision to either convict or acquit Trump.
“There are long-standing consequences, decisions like this that will define who we are as a people — who America is. We have in this room made monumental decisions … you all have made monumental decisions. We’ve declared wars, passed civil rights acts, ensured that no one in this country is a slave [and] every American has the right to vote — unless you live in a territory,” said Plaskett.
“At this time, some of these decisions are even controversial, but history has shown that they define us as a country and as a people. Today is one of those moments and history will wait for our decision.”
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