Yahoo Autos Mitch McConnell says Black people vote just as much as 'Americans'
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is trending on Twitter after making a comment related to voting rights in which he implied African Americans are not Americans.
Prior to a vote to move the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to the Senate floor failed Wednesday, McConnell was asked by a reporter about concerns among voters of color.
"Well the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans," McConnell responded.
A 19-second clip of the exchange was posted to Twitter late Wednesday and has been viewed nearly 1 million times.
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"Being Black doesn’t make you less of an American, no matter what this craven man thinks," former Kentucky Rep. Charles Booker tweeted.
"In one quote, he summarized the entire GOP worldview. They think it’s a White nation and anyone who isn’t White isn’t a true American," tweeted another person.
I need you to understand that this is who Mitch McConnell is.
Being Black doesn’t make you less of an American, no matter what this craven man thinks.
pic.twitter.com/Esk1NgIhD9— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) January 20, 2022
When asked to comment on the clip Thursday afternoon, McConnell said in a statement, "I have consistently pointed to the record-high turnout for all voters in the 2020 election, including African-Americans."
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late Georgia Democratic representative and civil rights icon, would restore Justice Department review of changes in election laws in states with a history of discrimination.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan policy group affiliated with the New York University School of Law, in 2021 at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to voting.
