Erin Burnett Outfront: Interview with Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)

Interview

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That is correct. I have not received that apology.

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Well, first of all, I never used any profanity toward her, number one. Number two, she spoke as a keynote speaker at a white supremacist conference. That's why she was referred to in that manner -- in addition to her taking a picture with an AR-15 standing next to a picture of the Squad, targeting members of the Squad who are mostly women of color, and much of her rhetoric, vitriol, and anti-Muslim language.

What you saw on the Capitol steps was two colleagues laughing at each other as we shared differing ideas about what needs to be done in our democracy. For us to go from that to her the next morning saying that, you know, my mannerisms are aggressive, and that she feels threatened by me -- first of all, if she feels threatened by me, I'm going to do everything in my power to say as far away from her as possible, because I don't want her or anyone else to feel threatened.

But the racial trope that that is, and how it has lived in America historically, whenever a White woman says a Black man is threatening of them, that Black man becomes a target, and sometimes killed, i.e., Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, and many others.

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Of course. Yeah, of course. It's racist. Absolutely.

But it's also reckless and dangerous. And this is why we have to teach American history accurately, and make sure that comprehensive African American history is a part of that curriculum, because hopefully, through education, members like Marjorie Taylor Greene and people like Ron DeSantis won't continue to attack Black history, attack Black people, and use racist tropes.

It's the same thing in other communities, there has to be an education across culture so that we can build bridges and open doors as opposed to the things that continue to divide us, and lead to violence.

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And so, that's where I'm trying to move. That's the work that most of us are trying to do in Washington.

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No! Come on now! Come on now. CNN, you all are tripping, now.

Listen, that was -- first of all, he should resign or be expelled because of the laws that he has been accused of breaking, the violations, and lying to his constituents. That's number one.

But number two, is heckling like -- like a horrible, evil thing? Is teasing someone, is friendly banter a horrible, evil thing? Like come on, y'all.

Like let's -- everybody needs to lighten up and understand that one, in a healthy democracy, dialogue and debate is essential, number one. Number two, why even frame the question in that way, because it feeds into the trope that as a Black man, I'm not allowed to use my voice.

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Listen --

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Why would I feel -- why would I feel embarrassed by that?

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What do you mean by -- so hold on a second. So, when we talk about decorum, okay, he allegedly falsified campaign finance documents, and stole from people, all right?

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That is a despicable act.

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We should be outraged by that.

When I was yelling at Representative Massie about guns killing children, we should be outraged by that.

Listen, raising my voice is a sign of passion, and intensity. It's not a sign of anger, or hate, or rage or anything that should make anyone feel uncomfortable.

The majority of support that I hear from my district, is people are excited that, finally, elected officials are expressing passion, and expressing discontent and rage for the things that aren't moving in Washington. Washington takes 1,000 years to move on common sense legislation, like gun control.

And that frustrates the American people.

The American people want to see action, and they appreciate passion. We should all be passionate about things but being respectful and loving at the same time, which is exactly who I am and is exactly what I wanted to do.

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All right.

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Of course, it's good to be with you. Thanks for having me.

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