6 months ago
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wasn’t above petty insults while criticizing Democrat Stacey Abrams during a Tuesday TV appearance.
Going off on the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate for sounding the alarm about America’s descent into authoritarianism, Leavitt told Fox News host Jesse Watters, “I can’t believe I heard stupid Stacey Abrams say that deportations kill democracy.”
“News flash, Stacey: Wide-open borders kill democracy, and that’s what the American people voted against,” Leavitt went on, later criticizing “radical” Democratic leaders for pushing back against the dramatic immigration crackdown hitting communities across America.
Leavitt appeared to be set off by Abrams’ warning about President Donald Trump’s totalitarian impulses during a Monday night appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Telling guest host Anthony Anderson why she believes America was already slipping towards autocracy, Abrams cited the president’s sweeping expansion of executive power and his tendency to blame economic inequality, political tension and other challenges on immigrants and “vulnerable” groups.
Abrams added that the current surge in ICE raids and deportations are an example of the state working to “encourage and incentivize private violence.”
“You send the U.S. Marines into spaces they should not be. You send the National Guard in,” she said. “You kidnap people off of the streets and pretend that’s normal, because that’s how you quiet dissent, because you make everyone afraid that if they don’t do what you want, they might be next.”
After that, Abrams said the final step toward authoritarian rule would be “easy,” telling Anderson, “That’s when you decide there won’t be new elections because everyone is either afraid, poor, broken, or complicit.”
Watch Abrams’ comments right here:
English (US) ·