On August 1, Rep. Ayanna Pressley joined Boston Public Radio to reflect on President Donald Trump's tweet about her and three other congresswomen in which he told them to "go back ... [to] the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." Pressley also shared her thoughts on the Democratic presidential debates in Detroit and discussed her support for Sen. Cory Booker's bill that would create government sponsored savings accounts for children born into low-income families.
Interview Highlights:
Pressley: Trump's Tweets 'Fan The Flames Of White Supremacy And Xenophobia'
"This rhetoric is dangerous because it does embolden and fan the flames of white supremacy and xenophobia. So, it has been a challenging time, just what has been unleashed in terms of the venom and vitriol.”
On the Democratic Debates
"I would take anyone on that stage over the current occupant of the White House, but ... I’m concerned about two things. One, a couple of months ago, former Gov. Deval Patrick spoke at our Democratic retreat and I had the honor of introducing him, and he said a couple of things in his remarks that deeply resonated with me. One of them was that what do we do when Democrats start to believe Republican talking points about who we are. At that time it felt a little bit more abstract, and now it feels not static, very dynamic and happening all the time. Whether you’re talking about immigration reform, identity politics — my personal pet peeve — whether you’re talking about health care, we are parroting Republican talking points.
What I’m concerned about also is that we continue to push this narrative about false binary choices, about strategically as to whether or not this is about energizing and emboldening our base ... or whether or not we should be focused on re-capturing the working class white voter that we 'lost.'"
On Her Support for Sen. Cory Booker's "Baby Bonds" Bill
"The issue of baby bonds is something that I’m proudly supporting because this gets to the heart of why I ran for this seat. ... In a three-mile radius, on a bus ride, the number one bus from Cambridge to Roxbury, the life expectancy drops by 30 years and median household income by$50,000."
