Stacey Abrams responds to Trump’s comment about her bid for Georgia governor
"His posture is not relevant to the work that I’m doing or to the positions I take," said Abrams
In a rally in Perry, Georgia, last month, former President Donald Trump suggested to the audience that Democratic voting rights activist and strategist, Stacey Abrams, would make a better governor of Georgia than Gov. Brian Kemp.
In his speech, Trump maintained that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election—offering a comparison to his contest and Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial race in which the Democrat declined to concede due to extensive voter suppression issues.
“When Stacey Abrams says I’m not going to concede, that’s okay,” Trump said. “Of course, having her, I think, might be better than having your existing governor, if you want to know the truth. Might very well be better.”
Abrams lost to Kemp in 2018. At the time, the now-governor was the Secretary of State in charge of elections, and purged tens of thousands of Georgians from voter rolls.
In an interview Wednesday with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Abrams responded to Trump’s comment.
“Does him invoking your name like this help or hurt you?” Burnett asked, as reported by Mediaite.
“It’s irrelevant,” Abrams answered. “His posture is not relevant to the work that I’m doing or to the positions I take. My responsibility is to do what I can to ensure that no matter who you are, and no matter who you choose, that you have the freedom to vote in the United States.”
“And that is why we have to keep laser-focused on the assault on our democracy,” she continued. “An assault that not only happened on January 6th, but has happened again and again since that time in statehouses that have restricted access to the right to vote and constricted not only that but the ability of election workers to do their jobs.”
Abrams is the founder of Fair Fight—an organization that brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.
In the interview, Abrams took the time to call out Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) for opposing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. The Act would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, certain portions of which were struck down by two United States Supreme Court decisions.
Abrams responded to Grassley’s commentary that voting in America has “worked for 240 years.”
“Well, I would first point out that Senator Grassley referenced a 240-year history where it has taken multiple constitutional amendments, multiple federal laws, an untold number of court cases to ensure access to democracy,” Abrams said.
“And unfortunately, in the wake of the 2020 election, we have watched 48 states try to pass laws. We’ve had 19 successfully do so to roll back access to the right to vote, and so it’s been 240 years of fighting to simply have access to the right to vote for so many Americans who should be entitled to it via their citizenship,” she continued.
For Cruz, Abrams noted that Texas has sought to enact some of the most restrictive voter laws in the nation. “To suggest,” she said, “that protecting access to the right to vote and defending the freedom to vote, that those are cynical acts, unfortunately, is a partisan response and not a patriotic response.”
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