WATCH: Kentucky’s First Black Attorney General Slams ‘Backwards’ Joe Biden: ‘I Am Not In Chains’
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s first black attorney general, launched into a scathing attack of Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday night, characterizing the former vice president as the candidate that would take America “backwards.”
Cameron brought up a series of Biden’s past controversial comments about the black community, then bashed the Democratic nominee over his record while touting a unifying vision of Republican governance.
Cameron opened by slamming rioters for tearing down statues of American heroes such as former presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant while quoting Lincoln saying, “Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” Cameron said that despite the divisive aims and destructive acts of “anarachists,” he and other Republicans “recognize those who work in good faith toward peace, justice, and equality.”
He referenced the killings of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old medical technician killed during a no-knock police raid on her home, and David Dorn, a retired police chief killed while protecting a friend’s pawn shop from looters.
“Republicans will never turn a blind eye to unjust acts, but neither will we accept an all-out assault on Western civilization,” Cameron said, referring to ongoing riots and looting that has continued sporadically in major American cities since the death of George Floyd in late May.
Cameron then got into what might have been the most impactful moment of his roughly 6:30 speech. The Kentucky attorney general spoke about the lessons he learned growing up and working in his parents’ coffee shop.
“My values were shaped by my faith and by my parents. I worked at their small coffee shop meeting people from all walks of life, and I realized something: no matter who we are, everyone needs a cup of coffee. That lesson stuck with me because despite our differences, we all want the same things: for our children to have more opportunities than we did, to feel the dignity of work, and to believe that if you play by the rules, you can make a good life for yourself and your family,” Cameron said.
Cameron then cast presidential candidate Biden as the candidate of regression and moving “backwards,” quoting a statement Biden made about black voters in May that he later apologized for. Cameron brought up other controversial statements from Biden’s past, as well.
“So the question is, will we chose the path that gives us the best chance to meet those universal desires? Or will we go backward to a time where people were treated like political commodities who can’t be trusted to think for themselves. I think often about my ancestors who struggled for freedom, and as I think of those giants and their broad shoulders, I also think about Joe Biden, who says, ‘If you aren’t voting for me, you ain’t black;’ who argued that Republicans would put us back in chains; who says there is no diversity of thought in the black community.” Cameron said.
“Mr. Vice President, look at me. I am black. We are not all the same, sir. I am not in chains. My mind is my own and you can’t tell me how to vote because of the color of my skin,” Cameron said, addressing Biden. “Joe Biden is a backwards thinker in a world that is craving forward-looking leadership. There is not wisdom in his record or plan, just a trail of discredited ideas and offensive statements. Joe Biden would destroy jobs, raise our taxes, and throw away the lives of countless unborn children.”
The attorney general said that Biden is “captive to the radical left” that believes “skin color must dictate your politics.” He then contrasted Biden’s and President Trump’s records on issues such as criminal justice reform, the economy, and immigration, saying that Biden “couldn’t do it” and touting Trump’s own record on criminal justice and the economy, and promoting Trump’s vision of an “America First” immigration policy.
Cameron finished with a call to unity:
Let me close with something my mom told me. This country’s many faces comprise a family, not separate parts to be divided against each other. And like any family, we care for one another, we grieve together, we share our burdens and our struggles, and we celebrate our successes. And though we fuss and fight, we are not enemies, we are Americans united by a collective faith in our Constitution and laws and the fundamental fairness they represent. We are defenders of life and individual liberty, and we carry the mantle of Eisenhower and of Regan to be a force for good in this world, and one that must always be reckoned with. That’s my Republican Party, the party of Lincoln, that believes that America is an indispensable nation, an evergreen tree standing tall in a turbulent world. And that is why I am voting for Donald Trump for president. Thank you and God bless.
