Florida representative Byron Donalds responded to Missouri representative Cori Bush's Wednesday tweet referring to him as a "prop" and "upholding white supremacy."
"FWIW, [Byron Donalds] is not a historic candidate for Speaker. He is a prop," Bush said. "Despite being Black, he supports a policy agenda intent on upholding and perpetuating white supremacy. His name being in the mix is not progress—it’s pathetic."
"FWIW, nobody asked [Cori Bush] her opinion on the matter," Donalds fired back shortly after. "Before you judge my agenda, let's have a debate over the policies and the outcomes. Until then, don't be a crab in a barrel!"
"My issue is not with Byron Donalds himself. My issue is not with him being Black. My issue is not with him being Republican. My issue is because he was not someone that they have been promoting for the last two years,” Bush said in a statement to the HuffPost. "It seems as if they’re using him as a prop, as a tool, not because they think that he’s great, that he’s done all of these things to lead them," she continued. "I don’t like that they’re using him that way. I don’t want them to use him that way. And I want him to understand: They’re only using you... don’t let them do that to you. Make them treat you with dignity and respect." "To hear Chip Roy stand up and say this is not about color ... it absolutely 100% is because if you were nominating him on his worth and merit, I think none of us would have been surprised because we would have seen him do leadership things," Bush concluded. "I’m glad they took offense because it shows their lack of knowledge. It shows how ignorant they are. I need them to read up and understand what white supremacy is, what it looks like, and what the patriarchal system looks like."
"[Cori Bush], if you see a Black man rise, let the man rise even if you disagree with them," Donalds said Thursday morning. "I’d be happy to sit down and debate our policies one on one whenever you’d like."
"As a Black man to a Black woman, I’d never do that to you. It’s a shame you did it to me."
“The reality is Rep. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have the votes. I committed my support to him publicly and for two votes on the House Floor,” Donalds shared on Twitter following the contentious vote. “218 is the number, and currently, no one is there. Our conference needs to recess and huddle and find someone or work out the next steps, but these continuous votes aren’t working for anyone.”
“When the dust settles, we will have a Republican Speaker, now is the time for our conference to debate and come to a consensus,” Donalds continued. “This will take time, Democracy is messy at times, but we will be ready to govern on behalf of the American people. Debate is healthy.”
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has lost six speakership ballots since Tuesday. A seventh ballot is currently underway as of Thursday afternoon.
