Sen. Mazie Hirono walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing discussing anarchist violence after criticizing Sen. Ted Cruz for calling on Democrats to denounce antifa.
“I hope this is the end of this hearing, Mr. Chairman, and that we don’t have to listen to anymore of your rhetorical speeches,” the Hawaii Democrat told the Texas Republican on Tuesday after he accused Democrats of not denouncing antifa violence in cities across the country over the past few months. “Thank you very much, I’m leaving.”
Hirono then gathered her things and began preparing to leave the room, at which point Cruz thanked her for appearing but asked her again if she would call out antifa by name.
“I would also note that throughout her remarks, she still did not say a negative word about antifa nor has any Democrat here,” Cruz said. “They instead engage in a political game. You’re welcome to say something negative about antifa right now.”
Hirono responded by saying, “I think that I’ve covered the subject quite well.”
“She declined to speak, so that is the position of the Democratic Party,” Cruz then said.
.@SenTedCruz to Sen. @maziehirono:
CRUZ: “You’re welcome to say something negative about Antifa right now.”
HIRONO: “I think that I’ve covered the subject quite well”
CRUZ: “She declined to speak so that is the position of the Democratic Party” pic.twitter.com/OI26xu8UHb
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 4, 2020
Cruz and Hirono got into a heated exchange earlier in the hearing as well as after the Hawaii Democrat played a video referring to law enforcement officers wearing uniforms with the word “police” sent to combat Black Lives Matter riots as “unidentified officers.”
“Thank you, Sen. Hirono. I will note at the end of that video that, as narrated, it describes law enforcement as unidentified while the video shows them with the words ‘police’ in bright yellow all-caps across their chest, so that’s a curious way to describe a law enforcement officer as ‘unidentified,'” Cruz said.
Cruz continued: “The ranking member said, ‘Nobody is condoning violence and rioting’ and yet nowhere in the opening remarks was even one word condemning it. “Condemning the assaults, condemning the 277 injuries that federal law enforcement officers have suffered at the hands of those rioters. Not a word.”
