Val Demings Tells Democrats They’re the ‘Only’ Americans Who Will Fight for Democracy

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) delivered a fiery speech in Florida over the weekend in which she claimed Democrats are the “only firewall” against those who “say they are Americans” but will not fight for democracy.

During Demings’ speech, which she delivered at a “Flip Florida Blue” breakfast hosted by the Democratic Club of North Florida, the Florida Democrat was railing against the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, then trailed into comments about saving American democracy.

“We’ve got to fight and fight and continue to fight,” Demings exclaimed to the crowd before taking an apparent jab at the Republican Party. “I’m gonna need you Democrats. You are the only firewall between our democracy, the will of the people, and those who say they are Americans, those who say they believe in a democracy but will not fight for it.”

Using similar rhetoric against the Republican Party in February, Demings, who is vice chair of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, condemned her Republican colleagues during an appearance on MSNBC for “continuing to carry the big lie” after “Insurrection Day.”

Pressed by host Chris Hayes about Demings’ message to Republicans who contend Democrats are targeting the party as a whole and lumping all Republicans in with “the most extreme elements,” Demings replied, “You know what I say, we know them by the fruits that they bear. … The majority of persons in the Republican Party in the House of Representatives voted to overturn the election.” Later in the interview, the Florida Democrat accused some of her Republican colleagues in Congress of wanting a “modern-day civil war.”

During her speech on Saturday, Demings also took a veiled shot at Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), whom she is seeking to unseat in the battleground state’s race for U.S. Senate next year.

Listing issues, including health care and increasing minimum wage, she said, “And we know that the person who currently holds the office in U.S. Senate doesn’t give a damn about those things.”

Also in attendance at the breakfast were Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), two Democrat gubernatorial candidates vying to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) next year.

Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com.