Congressman Jamaal Bowman criticized President Joe Biden during a recent interview, claiming the incumbent was losing considerable support among Black voters because he had not taken any meaningful action on reparations for slavery.
The New York Democrat, a member of the bloc of eight progressive Democrats called “The Squad,” made the remarks last week on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” show, saying there has been “no conversation at all about reparations.”
“People of color have been turned off for a while because of a lack of comprehensive immigration reform, if you’re talking about the Latino community, and no conversation at all about reparations, if you’re talking about the Black community.”
Bowman also called out the administration’s substantial military spending while suggesting the White House was avoiding a serious dialogue on compensating generations of Black Americans and providing restitution to populations who have suffered historical injustices.
“But we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars every year on weapons in war, but we can’t even have a conversation about reparations? Those are the things that are happening right now,” he said.
Reparations have remained a controversial issue among lawmakers who have struggled for decades to find a comprehensive resolution following the end of slavery.
The reignited debate comes as Biden was trailing Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in many of the critical battleground states that the incumbent won in 2020, while some polls showed a majority of young voters disagreed with Biden’s foreign policy decisions amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Back in Washington, the conflict was serving to stoke new divisions on Capitol Hill while setting the stage for a potentially fiery primary season in 2024 as lawmakers navigate a delicate balance with voters who represent both Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, Bowman said.
After nearly three years, many…
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