An emotional Angela Rye gave the world a glimpse into what it is like to live in Trump’s America as a marginalized person with an opinion.
Rye was on a CNN panel to discuss the presence of blatant racists on ballots. This progressed to the overall normalization of racism, and Republican commentator Alice Stewart professed her loyalty to the GOP despite the rise of Trump.
“But at the end of the day, like I said, he wasn't my first, second, third, fourth or fifth choice for the Republican nominee, but he ended up being the party's nominee. And I am a Republican, I'm going to support Republican candidates when that is the choice,” Stewart said before being cut off by host Don Lemon.
Former U.S. Representative David Jolly, also a Republican, chimed in and called Donald Trump a racist:
“Don, I hate these conversations because it forces Republicans to confront a reality that I believe, which is this president is racist. And whether that is a result of some type of financial elitism, whether it is because of being born on third base through white privilege or whether it is a part of Steve Bannon's nationalism, this is why traditional Republicans struggle with his leadership.”
“We can't forgive it. We can't normalize it. We can't suggest that he can be the figure of a party that we subscribe to. It's heartbreaking. It is not an easy conversation. It sucks. Everything about it sucks. But, this is the president, and he is the leader of the Republican Party, and he continues to peddle what is very clearly racist tendencies.”
Hearing Jolly admit his party elected and support a racist brought Rye to tears as she recounted the times she was attacked for calling out racism.
“I just want to say, Congressman, like, I wish that the new members, the folks who have followed in your footsteps could at least acknowledge that. That's all so many of us are saying. At this point, I'm emotional.”
“Because we can't — we cannot — we're constantly being told — I'm told every day I'm on air that I'm racist because I call out racism. That is maddening to me. And I'm crying about it because it's crazy. And I wish that somebody who is a colleague of mine like Alice could at least acknowledge that fact. That is so frustrating. We're supposed to be talking about a 12-year-old boy who was just trying to deliver newspapers, and the police are called him in Ohio where Tamir Rice was killed in the same age. I want to be acknowledged and see that this is not OK for our children. This is not OK for the future direction of this country. So, I want to say, I commend you for saying what you said. It means the world to me.”
Rye's vulnerability prompted Stewart to acknowledge racism is becoming more overt and stress the importance of talking about this issue.
"Angela, I love you. And it breaks my heart to hear you talk like that and feel that. And I hate that you feel that way. This is such an emotional issue. And I think the point that you made that is so awful to admit is that this has been going on for many, many years, and it is boiling over the surface now," Stewart said.
Check out the full panel below:
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