Rep. Maxine Waters today told attendees at a Congressional Black Caucus forum that the black community is not trying hard enough to help her impeach President Trump.
The California congresswoman, appearing at a Congressional Black Caucus-sponsored civil rights town hall, also told black church leaders that they should help rally opposition to the president.
Waters asked the crowd, "How many of you in your organizations have said, ‘impeach 45?’" Apparently expecting a large response, the question drew just scattered applause. The congresswoman, apparently anticipating the objection that Trump hasn't committed an impeachable "high crime or misdemeanor," then told the crowd, " Impeachment is about whatever the Congress says it is. There is no law that dictates impeachment. What the Constitution says is ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ and we define that."
Waters says she can "guarantee" Trump "is in collusion with the Russians to undermine our democracy" and that he "lies every day." If Bill Clinton was impeached for lying, she said, then Trump is likewise impeachable.
She then redirected her ire from Trump to the audience.
“When is the black committee going to say, ‘Yeah, impeach him!’" she asked. "It’s time to go after him. I don’t hear you. Don’t another person come up to me and say, 'You go girl.' No, you go!”
Waters also urged blacks to become more aggressive -- "you better be controversial," she suggested, and play "the race card."
"When they said to us about 10, 15 years ago, 'Oh, she's playing the race card,' -- You should say, Yeah, and I've got a lot more of those to play."
The congresswoman also told black church leaders that they should incorporate anti-Trump activism into their sermons:"
Ministers, you have the opportunity to talk to more people on Sunday morning in America than anybody else. (Applause) And I want you to know we are not hearing from you. We are not hearing from you. Where are you? You have a president who said in his campaign that you don’t have anything, you get shot any time you walk down the street. You have anything. Talks down to you. Where is your level of insult? When are you going to come together and help to organize all these people that are coming to church every Sunday and do the kind of community work that will select the right individuals to run for office.”
Waters also had words for black students who feel ashamed over accepting Affirmative Action.
To me black people were ashamed of affirmative action and they would say to you, 'Well no, I got in on my own. I am not a benefit -- I didn’t benefit from affirmative action. I was smart enough.' Well come on people, you know? The fact of the matter is that you all of these legacy appointments of people who have relatives, who have management in these universities, and they get in because their parents gave money, because their parents are part of the alumni, et cetera. So that's real affirmative action for white people that happens in these universities. And so black people should not be ashamed — (Applause) -- of affirmative action that is trying to correct the wrongs of the past."
Waters also warned members of the Trump Administration she's coming after them, too.
Asked about Attorney General Sessions, Waters flatly replied, "Well first of all he's racist."
She then brought up Dr. Ben Carson, to whom she warned:
"Here's a man who has a reputation of being a very highly competent surgeon, but when he talks about poor people, he says they are the cost of their poverty. He doesn't understand why you didn't do what he did, and why you didn't make it like he made it. And he doesn't know the difference between slavery and emigration. And so he's coming before my committee. If you think I took Mnuchin on, you watch what I'm going to do to Ben Carson."