MSNBC political analyst Zerlina Maxwell referred to the Iowa caucuses as the “perfect example of systemic racism.”
Reacting to reports of mediocre turnout, Maxwell also took a shot at President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies.
“The Iowa caucus is essentially the perfect example of systemic racism,” Maxwell said Monday on MSNBC. “91% of the voters in Iowa are white. The reason why you see a drop in turnout, I’m just speculating here, it could be perhaps that white children are not in the cages.”
“The Iowa caucus is essentially the perfect example of systemic racism.
91% of the voters in Iowa are white.
The reason why you see a drop in turnout, I’m just speculating here, it could be perhaps that white children are not in the cages.”
– @ZerlinaMaxwell pic.twitter.com/3253vojUxu
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 4, 2020
Maxwell is not alone in claiming that white people have an outsized influence in the Iowa caucuses. The Washington Post recently ran an opinion piece with the headline “Why the Iowa caucuses are even whiter than you think.”
The MSNBC analyst later sought to clarify her comments via Twitter.
“My point being that the urgency and pain isn’t felt in the same way,” she said. That matters even though no one will want to admit it.”
[Also read: Iowa GOP senators defend caucus system after botched Democratic vote]
My point being that the urgency and pain isn’t felt in the same way. That matters even though no one will want to admit it.
I also noted that the caucus system is UNDemocratic & suppresses votes of historically marginalized like folks with accessibility needs and single parents https://t.co/UPidSfWzOb
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) February 4, 2020
Maxwell continued, “I also noted that the caucus system is UNDemocratic & suppresses votes of historically marginalized like folks with accessibility needs and single parents.”
Voter turnout in Iowa was not as strong as many expected and was more or less in line with the number of voters who turned out in 2016.
“We were blown away by the fact that we did not have the turnout that we expected,” the chair of the Dubuque County Democratic Party told local NBC affiliate KWQC. “We had expected higher numbers.”
A record turnout had been expected in the state thanks to energized voters, but fewer first-time voters made it to the caucus sites than did in 2016.
An immigrant’s rights legal advocacy group installed cages across the city of Des Moines in the hours leading up to the caucuses containing what were made to represent children sleeping under blankets to raise awareness of the Trump administration’s detention of unaccompanied minors who cross the southern border illegally.
Today caucus-goers in Iowa woke up to more than a dozen kids in cages all over the city of Des Moines.
We came to remind people that this remains a reality & that the issue cannot be pushed under the rug.
? #DontLookAway this is a humanitarian crisis.?#IowaCaucus pic.twitter.com/munyjrXdIS
— RAICES (@RAICESTEXAS) February 3, 2020
The results of the Iowa caucuses were not announced Monday night as planned due to technical issues. As of midday Tuesday, the winner of the Iowa caucus was still not known.
