On Tuesday's Amanpour & Co., PBS host Christiane Amanpour used her taxpayer-funded program to promote phony claims that Tennessee Republicans were motivated by racism when they expelled two black Democrats from the state legislature while failing to expel a white Democrat.
Right after reading a brief commemorating the passing of prominent civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, Amanpour lauded State Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson as cut from similar cloth:
It was that spirit that was on full display in the Tennessee State House when three lawmakers faced expulsion for protesting and advocating gun control. Two black men -- Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson -- were expelled. And the other -- Gloria Johnson, who is white -- survived by a single vote. But, after an uproar, the other two men were reinstated, and the incident caused President Biden to invite all of them to the Oval Office.
As Democratic State Representative Gloria Johnson - who is white - appeared as one of the two guests, Amanpour cued her up to repeat claims that Republicans were engaging in racial discrimination by not expelling her while expelling her two black colleagues. Amanpour recalled:
You yourself, I believe, have commented on the fact that when this uproar happened and they were expelled and you weren't despite you all being involved in the same protest, you spoke out about that. I mean, in other words, the idea of racism and -- seems to be encompassed in what happened to the three of you in the unequal treatment.
Johnson began: "Absolutely. I mean, I've been there for several years, so I have seen racism. I've heard comments in committee -- I've seen comments on the floor."
She soon added:
And I think we have to call it what it is. And it shouldn't be courageous to do what is right. And as soon as they asked me what the difference was, I said, "the color of our skin." Because it was apparent. It was apparent in the questions that they asked. It was apparent in the attitudes of those who were asking the questions. You know, if you're around in a Tennessee state legislature, you know what that's about.
It was not mentioned that the two who were expelled had gone further than Johnson by smuggling a bullhorn into the chamber against rules and using it to incite a mob of left-wing protesters within the chamber.
Instead of challenging any of her Democrat guest's incendiary claims, Amanpour brought up the possibility of the Justice Department investigating Tennessee Republicans:
And I guess I also want to ask you both whether there was any talk at the White House of an actual formal investigation by the Justice Department as to whether, you know, the House legislator (sic) violated federal civil rights laws. The Democratic Senate Leader, Chuck Schumer, apparently has raised that possibility.
In contrast, a few weeks ago, Fox News brought on the Republican leader from the Tennessee State House as Fox & Friends recalled that Johnson had distanced herself from her black colleagues as she tried to avoid expulsion because she had not used a bullhorn, but then flipped to accusing Republicans of being racists for not expelling her along with them.
Amanpour went on to let her Democrat guests promote more gun control.
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Transcript follows:
PBS's Amanpour & Co.
April 25, 2023CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Turning now to the end of an important era here in the United States. One of the last remaining giants of the Civil Rights Movement, Harry Belafonte, has died at the age of 96. The groundbreaking singer and activist inspired generations around the world in the struggle for nonviolent resistance, justice and change.
It was that spirit that was on full display in the Tennessee State House when three lawmakers faced expulsion for protesting and advocating gun control. Two black men -- Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson -- were expelled. And the other -- Gloria Johnson, who is white -- survived by a single vote. But, after an uproar, the other two men were reinstated, and the incident caused President Biden to invite all of them to the Oval Office.
Two of those lawmakers are joining me now to talk about this and the road ahead. Justin J. Pearson and Gloria Johnson, welcome both of you to the program where you are there in Washington. Look, can I first start by asking you: You met with the President in the White House just hours before he dropped his -- his reelection video. Did you have any sense that this was coming, Justin Pearson?
STATE REPRESENTATIVE JUSTIN J. PEARSON, (D-TN): No, we didn't know and didn't talk much about the election. We talked about the resurrection of a moral movement for justice to end gun violence in our countries -- to prevent gun violence from happening -- and to do all that we can at the federal and also at the state level to make sure that children go home to their parents after school, and that loved one after loved one doesn't have to go to funerals of the people that they care about because of the proliferation of gun violence.
And we talked about the preservation of our democracy and the principles that we hold so dear and seeing how anti-democratic the Tennessee House Republican legislature has been behaving. And now we're seeing that in other states with the silencing of duly elected lawmakers of the problematic nature that has been our government and our democracy and the reason why we have to continue to build this movement in order to fight into the future.
AMANPOUR: And, Gloria Johnson, what Justin J. Pearson just said about the anti-democratic nature of your legislature. You yourself, I believe, have commented on the fact that when this uproar happened and they were expelled and you weren't despite you all being involved in the same protest, you spoke out about that. I mean, in other words, the idea of racism and -- seems to be encompassed in what happened to the three of you in the unequal treatment.
STATE REP. GLORIA JOHNSON (D-TN): Absolutely. I mean, I've been there for several years, so I have seen racism. I've heard comments in committee -- I've seen comments on the floor. You know, I've seen it all through, and these two young men have so much to bring to the table, and the idea that their voices are being silenced, and these voices are critical to the Tennessee legislature right now.
And I think we have to call it what it is. And it shouldn't be courageous to do what is right. And as soon as they asked me what the difference was, I said, "the color of our skin." Because it was apparent. It was apparent in the questions that they asked. It was apparent in the attitudes of those who were asking the questions. You know, if you're around in a Tennessee state legislature, you know what that's about.
(...)
AMANPOUR: And I guess I also want to ask you both whether there was any talk at the White House of an actual formal investigation by the Justice Department as to whether, you know, the House legislator (sic) violated federal civil rights laws. The Democratic Senate Leader, Chuck Schumer, apparently has raised that possibility.
(...)
PEARSON: We know that gun violence is a public health emergency in our community, Memphis district 86... We have a problem, and we have to do something about it. And, talk about the President and Vice President, they offered all their support to our efforts to continue to strategize, organize and coordinate to build a movement that does go across political parties. ... And it's not just about the protection of the Second Amendment or not. It's about whether or not we care to protect kids over guns.
And all of us want to ensure that everybody's child is going to be able to come home at night. All of us want to ensure that going to the bank doesn't end up being the destination where you end up dying. And so we have a lot more that we can do. We are continuing and will continue to work with the administration and also within our legislature to create just the right policies and practices and laws to build this movement for justice and keep people safe.
AMANPOUR: So, Gloria Johnson, I mean, you've been at this for longer than Justin J. Pearson has, and you straddle different generations, the two of you. What hope do you have in your own legislature and others around the country to enact that kind of sensible protective policies for people. The President apparently has exhausted all his executive -- executive orders around this. Do you have any realistic hope and expectation?
