Despite Trump-Pence emboldening white supremacists, Republicans in Minnesota refuse to denounce the leaders of their party by name
Will Minnesota Republicans campaign with President Trump and Vice President Pence? Will Chair Carnahan invite Trump to campaign with Republican candidates across the state?
[ST. PAUL, MN] – Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Chairman Ken Martin is calling out Minnesota Republicans’ silence and refusal to forcefully condemn the Trump-Pence Administration for its disturbing reaction to last weekend’s violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and asking whether they will campaign with the ticket in the weeks and months ahead.
“The big question is: will Chair Carnahan and Republican candidates invite President Trump and Vice President Pence to campaign with them across Minnesota?” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “The Trump-Pence Administration is emboldening white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Every single one of us has a duty to stand up against a presidential seal on hate. The images from Charlottesville of white supremacists with Confederate and Nazi flags held aloft and of violent clashes in the streets, coupled with Trump’s disturbing response, should give us great alarm — regardless of political party.”
“This is a time of reckoning, and Minnesota Republicans are failing to denounce President Trump for his bigotry,” Chairman Martin continued. “Until they forcefully condemn the heinous actions by the leaders of their party, they are condoning the empowerment of violent white supremacists. Republicans must disavow Trump, his Administration, and his actions that have fueled white supremacists across the country. History will not forget who stood by while this Administration gave license to a seething hate seeking to divide our great country.”
Representative Jason Lewis, who has come under fire in the past for questioning the role of the federal government in outlawing slavery, has remained silent since Trump defended people marching with white supremacists as “very fine people” at a press conference Tuesday. Representatives Paulsen and Emmer have failed to denounce President Trump by name. Other top Republicans in Minnesota have failed to denounce the Trump Administration by name or have remained completely silent.
Below is a list of Republican party leaders, many running for higher office, in Minnesota who have either defended Trump’s actions, stayed silent, or failed to condemn him by name:
- GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan
- House Speaker Kurt Daudt
- Majority Leader Paul Gazelka
- State Representative Matt Dean
- Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson
- U.S. Representative Jason Lewis
- U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen
- U.S. Representative Tom Emmer
- Former Minnesota Republican Party Chair Keith Downey
- Gubernatorial Candidate Christopher Chamberlin
- Gubernatorial Candidate Phillip Parrish
- Gubernatorial Candidate Jeffrey Warton