NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Maxine Waters says she didn't stoke violence against GOP as clip goes viral, Internet asks 'did she storm Capitol?'

'Republicans should be afraid not only about the destruction of our democracy, but if they continue to support him, they’re going to have to live with a president that dictates to them every vote they can take'

House Rep Maxine Waters (D-CA) said on Sunday, January 7 on MSNBC’s 'Velshi' that she can never be accused of glorifying or encouraging violence against Republicans. 

When anchor Ali Velshi reminded her that they had the clip of her from June 23, 2018, where she was asking people to confront GOP members at department stores, gas stations, and restaurants and tell them they’re not welcome and that former President Donald Trump lawyers have cited her behavior to prove that she and others were doing the same thing Trump was doing on January 6 that allegedly led to the insurrection, Waters pressed on the fact that she was different from the actions that led the ex-president into being impeached for a second time.

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“They’re going to try it, but nothing any Democrat that I know of have ever said or acted in the way the president of the United States has acted. People must realize this president was out to destroy our democracy if he could not be president. He sent those people, those domestic terrorists, to the Capitol to take over the Capitol. Even they are saying so. They’re saying they were invited by the president. The president was rallying them right before they went. He told them to be tough. He told them to take back their government. And so nothing equals that," she said.

She added: “Yes, I defended those poor children in cages that the Trump administration has left there separated from their parents. There was a movement at the time where restaurants were denying members of his administration, of his cabinet and saying you guys should speak up for the children. And so that does not in any way equal what this president has said and what he has done. As a matter of fact, the Republicans should be afraid not only about the destruction of our democracy, but if they continue to support him and allow themselves to be guided by him, they’re going to have to live with a president that dictates to them every vote they can take, every vote they cannot take, he’s going to be in their primaries, they will be owned by this dishonorable human being."

She went on: "If that’s how they want to live, if they would rather be owned by the president who in fact tried to destroy our democracy in order to stay in office, then they don’t deserve to be elected. So no matter what he says about me or Nancy Pelosi, Cory Booker, or anybody they’re going to point to, it won’t work. It won’t work at all because nothing matches the way this president has tried to destroy this democracy."

Watch Maxine Waters' clip here:

The clip showed her telling people, "Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up, and if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out, and you create a crowd, and you push back on them. You tell them that they’re not welcome anymore anywhere! We’ve got to get the children connected to their parents. The children are suffering."

When Velshi pressed on, asking whether Waters can confirm "that you have not glorified or encouraged violence against Republicans", the lawmakers responded, "Absolutely, I can say it. As a matter of fact, if you look at the words that I used, the strongest thing I was was to tell them they’re not welcome, talk to them, tell them they’re not welcome. I didn’t say go and fight. I didn’t say anybody was going to have any violence. So they can’t make that statement.”

Waters' comments drew a lot of flak online after her clip went viral. "There's a double standard here!" one of them said while another commented, "Hard to deny when it's on video." A third wrote, "Oh, Maxine thought you meant what she did 'lately.'" One more quipped, "Truly don’t get how she gets away with the violence." 

However, not everyone agreed with the comparison being made between Waters and Trump. "This is a false equivalent and you know if, but you're not even real news so give me a break. And I don't agree with what Mrs. Waters had to say, but the ex-president cultivated Domestic Terrorism. People were killed. And they all walked away. That's privilege," one user noted.

Another reacted with, "I forgot when Maxine Waters’ supporters stormed the Capitol. Must have missed that day." A commenter tweeted, "Yeah because saying you're not welcome is exactly the same thing as telling a crowd of a 100.000 now we are going to walk to the Capitol because you have to fight to take back our country. Spot on comparison there."