Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is taking a swipe at President Donald Trump for spending too much time on what she believes was the wrong topic during his speech at South Dakota’s 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on Friday.
CNN’s Dana Bash, replayed a clip of Trump discussing the importance of preserving the nation’s historical monuments and asked Duckworth for her opinion on whether statues of those including George Washington should come down.
Duckworth argued he should be more focused on other issues at hand.
“His priorities are all wrong here. He should be talking about what we’re going to do to overcome this pandemic. What are we going to do to push Russia back,” Duckworth said.
She added, “And instead he had no time for that. He spent all his time talking about dead traitors.”
Check out her comments below:
"His priorities are all wrong," Sen. Tammy Duckworth reacts to Pres. Trump's Mt. Rushmore speech where he defended Confederate monuments. "He should be talking about what we're going to do to overcome this pandemic… he spent all his time talking about dead traitors." #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/eWEq750ZPy
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) July 5, 2020
Protesters have called for the removal of monuments and statues across the nation amid efforts to end racial injustice and police brutality.
Trump issued an executive order on June 26 providing protection to American monuments, memorials, and statues.
During his speech, Trump also vowed to protect Mount Rushmore, as IJR previously reported.
He said it “will never be desecrated.”
Bash went on to press Duckworth on whether she believes the statue of George Washington should be taken down.
Duckworth explained she believes those pushing for that should be heard, but reiterated Trump should be focusing on the issue that is really plaguing the nation.
“I’m more worried about the 130,000 who have lost their lives recently and the thousands and thousands more Americans who are currently sick than I am about our historical past,” Duckworth said.
She added, “We need to talk about what we’re doing now to bring this country off of the brink of chaos that it’s in.”