House Majority Whip James Clyburn Wednesday denied that there is a "growing racial divide" within the Democratic Party, but he does think discussions about race are still needed as there are still many racial issues in the United States and "the flames have been fanned" by President Donald Trump.
"I do believe we are going, and should have, into a discussion of race," the South Carolina Democrat, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement, told CNN's "New Day."
He pointed out that he's "been around a long time" and being from South Carolina, he knows about living in an environment of racial divide.
"I bring that experience here to the Congress," Clyburn said. "Others bring their experiences here to the Congress [and] some of those experiences were predicated upon racial differences."
Others, he said, have the experience of gender differences, and others "have to do with preferences."
"We should have all of those discussions here, but we can do that in a way we can be respectful with each other, and I do believe that that is taking place," said Clyburn.
His comments came after members of the House Tuesday voted to condemn comments and tweets from Trump as "racist," with lawmakers voting in a 240-187 party-line decision to back a resolution that "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color."
A handful of Republicans also voted for the measure, and Trump has insisted that his tweets, telling a quartet of freshmen congresswomen to return home, was not meant in a racial way.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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