Sen. Coons: “It’s disappointing that the President continues to step back when he really should step forward.”

Sen. Coons on his faith: “Part of what motivates me to keep fighting for the Affordable Care Act, and part of what motivates me to keep fighting for economic opportunity, is a personal belief motivated by my religious faith that those are the folks in our society we are called to tend to.”

WASHINGTON – This morning, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Morning Joe to discuss the recent violence in Charlottesville and his op-ed in The Atlantic that published yesterday.

“Presidents have rare moments where they get to speak not just to our nation, but to the world,” said Senator Coons. “I’ve been struck that President Trump is in the middle of two unfolding crises, and in one he's been too belligerent and ahead of his team, and in the other, he's failed to step up and speak in a moral and in a positive way about how we confront the evil that is white nationalism. In confronting North Korea's expanding and aggressive nuclear program, President Trump has repeatedly over-performed, and in making it clear that all Americans stand united in opposing Neo-Nazism and white supremacy, he’s really failed to step up to the plate.”

Full audio and video available here.

Excerpts from the interview:

Senator Coons on President Trump’s reaction to the violence in Charlottesville: Presidents have rare moments where they get to speak not just to our nation, but to the world. I’ve been struck that President Trump is in the middle of two unfolding crises, and in one he's been too belligerent and ahead of his team, and in the other, he's failed to step up and speak in a moral and in a positive way about how we confront the evil that is white nationalism. In confronting North Korea's expanding and aggressive nuclear program, President Trump has repeatedly over-performed, and in making it clear that all Americans stand united in opposing Neo-Nazism and white supremacy, he’s really failed to step up to the plate. Many other Republicans in the Senate, many other elected leaders, gave sharp, clear denunciations of what happened in Charlottesville. It’s disappointing that the President continues to step back when he really should step forward.

Senator Coons on Republican support for the President: Well I think it gets harder and harder for his colleagues, certainly those I serve with in the Senate, to openly and enthusiastically embrace the President, when on such vital, moral challenges, as whether or not to stand up to Nazism, he doesn’t meet the same level of engagement that they do. I’ll remind you that Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican senator, gave one of the clearest statements denouncing Nazism when he said that his older brother didn’t die fighting Nazism in Europe simply to have that ideology tolerated here at home. I do think this is going to make it harder with his own party and the Congress going forward.

Senator Coons on how faith guides his political practices: Well, one of the things that I bring to legislating is a sense of humility, a sense of humility that is at the core of my faith, and a sense of commitment to caring for those on the margins of our society, those who are either in need of economic help, those who are in need of medical help… Part of what motivates me to keep fighting for the Affordable Care Act, and part of what motivates me to keep fighting for economic opportunity, is a personal belief motivated by my religious faith that those are the folks in our society we are called to tend to. 

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