Saturday on Fox News Channel’s “Justice,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) rejected the stated motivations of some of the Black Lives Matter protests given the statues the protesters have targeted.
Gaetz called the destruction of icons, including Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Frederick Douglass, “attempted cultural genocide.”
They’re tearing down Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Frederick Douglass. So this isn’t about slavery or fascism, or even race. There is an attempted cultural genocide going on in America right now, and it calls for patriots to stand up and say, this is a great country. It is worthy of our pride and our defense. The left wants us to be ashamed of America so that they can replace America. I love this country, and I think that we ought to do a lot more to push back against the hate that we’re seeing.”
The Florida Republican lawmaker also said he saw how those in the Black Lives Matter movement dedicated to the “destruction of America” as having more in common with the Confederate generals, whose statues they were tearing down, than they may realize.
“I am proud that President Trump has substantially increased enforcement and prosecutions. There are more than a half a dozen Antifa members from up in Portland that are going to be facing a Federal judge, and I think prison time as a consequence of organizing these things. But the great irony, Judge Jeanine, is that the organizers of Black Lives Matter who pledge allegiance to the destruction of America have a lot more in common with the Confederate generals that they hate than they would like to admit because it was in fact, the Confederacy that initially wanted to kick out Federal officials who wanted to destroy America and change it to something different. I think America was worth defending in the 1860s, and she is certainly worth defending today.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.