Rep. Donalds responds to Rep. Bowman's racially charged attack on Manchin
Florida Republican also criticized Bette Midler's attack on West Virginians, on 'Hannity'
Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds blasted New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-Yonkers, and liberal elites like Bette Midler, who disparaged West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III and in some cases the people of the Mountain State themselves.
Donalds told "Hannity" on Tuesday he was disappointed that Bowman apparently cannot see the damage his far-left policies are doing to the American people.
"Well, look, let me tell you quickly: Whether you’re Black or Hispanic, whether you’re Jamaal Bowman or Bette Midler, they don’t understand the economics going on in this country," he said, praising Manchin's opposition to the socioeconomic overhaul dubbed "Build Back Better."
"If prices are rising out of control, that damages your ability to live in your life: Bette Midler doesn’t understand that, she’s a wealthy actress. God bless her for her success."
Donalds said Bowman is ignoring the destruction that Democrats nationally and in Albany have caused their home state:
"My colleague from New York has forgotten the money spent by this administration and the terrible COVID policies from the two governors of New York [Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul] have crushed the poor people of my home state."
WATTERS: DEMOCRATS WOULD RATHER BIDEN BE A KING THAN PRESIDENT
Jamaal Bowman speaks at a watch party as he takes an early lead in the democratic primary for New York's 16th Congressional District in Yonkers, New York.
"Democrats need to learn from their mistakes but they’re more committed to politics than they are the economics of the American people."
Bowman, a former middle school principal in Eastchester, said earlier Tuesday that Manchin is the latest example of a "White man" ignoring the plight of Black Americans:
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"It’s tremendously frustrating for me as a Black man in America because once again, it’s an example of Joe Manchin as a White man showing that he doesn’t care about Black people, he doesn’t care about Latinos, he doesn’t care about immigrants, he doesn’t care about women, and he doesn’t care about the poor," Bowman claimed, adding that the Mountaineer doesn't understand how the people in his Bronx and southern Westchester County "district are suffering."
Donalds later told "Hannity" host Jason Chaffetz that the regular Americans know more than many of the elites on both coasts:
"I will take what the people of West Virginia or Florida or Missouri or Texas say about government overspending than somebody who has basically lived at the top of American life and doesn’t understand the economic realities on the ground of every American’s face," he said, in an apparent reference to the actress Midler – who called West Virginians "strung-out" and "poor."
"And as a member of Congress, I will tell you, there’s far too many members who know the true impact of economic policy and how Washington has made that worse year-over-year-over-year. I’m staying with the people."
Host Chaffetz later added that it was "comical" to see Democrats essentially disown Manchin – a prominent party member going back to his time in Charleston decades ago – while welcoming longtime socialist independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont with open arms.
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