Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) got emotional during a Friday night interview after dropping his reelection bid due to redistricting in Tennessee.
Cohen joined NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo following Cohen’s announcement that he’s dropping a reelection bid to represent Tennessee’s ninth district, which he’s represented since 2007. The move comes after redistricting in the state, which Democrats have blasted as political gerrymandering.
“I’m upset by this. I think it’s really bad for the democracy, and I’m a fan of yours. So I don’t like it. And I don’t get the criticism of stand and fight. Why would you fight when they changed the district and there aren’t enough votes for you to win? That’s silly. But I just wanted to give you a couple of minutes to tell people what you think this means for the democracy. Where are we?” Cuomo told Cohen.
Cohen explained:
What the Republicans did, and the Democrats did a little bit in response, is to try to get an advantage this year, mid decade. Redistricting is almost never done. And Tennessee had a statute making it legal since 1971. The first thing they had to do was to repeal that statute that had been on the books for 54 years, because Donald Trump called the governor of Tennessee and said, I want one more seat. And the governor complied. The governor’s term limited. He didn’t have a job come January. He didn’t want to go back to the heating and air conditioning business. He wants to get a job from Donald Trump. As an ambassador or cabinet member or agency head. And so he gets that. Trump gets another Republican who’ll be a lackey.
Cohen got emotional and shed some tears as the interview wrapped up.
“You know, it’s funny, my press conference today is the most cameras I think I’ve had since the Victoria incident. And here we are again. And I got tears,” the lawmaker said.
He was referring to an incident where he at one point claimed a woman named Victoria Brink was his biological daughter, only for a paternity test to later prove this not to be true.
“You’re crying because you know what your service meant to that community, and that they needed it, especially in that state, and it was taken, and was unfair, just like what happened with Victoria,” Cuomo told Cohen.
“I’ve got a great district, wonderful people. They’ve supported me so well,” Cohen said. “You know, it’s amazing thing that African-American community supported me for 20 years like they did. And the Republicans don’t see it and they just tear it apart because they have no perspective of caring about African-Americans or caring about people getting together and anything nice that happens. It’s a tough sport and they play it tough.”
Watch above via NewsNation.
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