Michigan twins who ran for office in opposing parties talk about Trump
Monica Sparks and Jessica Ann Tyson are identical twins who both ran for seats on the Kent County Board of Commissioners in Michigan last November, but there's a key difference: Sparks ran as a Democrat and won, while Tyson ran as a Republican and lost. On this week's episode of "The Takeout" podcast, they spoke with chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett about bridging the political divide with family, and their responses to President Trump.
Sparks and Tyson talked about Mr. Trump's response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Democrat Sparks said that Mr. Trump's comment in the aftermath of the rally, that there were "very good people on both sides," was insufficient.
"He didn't say, 'I'm sorry it happened,' he didn't say, 'I'm trying to understand,' he didn't say, 'Racism is wrong and we will not tolerate it as Americans,'" Sparks said, and she added, moreover, that Mr. Trump did not condemn white nationalists "soon enough" after the rally.
But her Republican twin, Tyson, came to Mr. Trump's defense, charging that the news media had put a negative spin on his words, and that it was impossible to know how he truly felt in the aftermath of the rally.
"I do feel that there was some things that I would have done differently," Tyson conceded, regarding Mr. Trump's response. "But I can't speak for President Trump. I'm not in his mind."
Sparks also criticized the Trump slogan, "Make America Great Again."
"The ideology of 'Make America Great Again' is coming from someone who is a white male, talking to another white male, who may be a Confederate flag holder," Sparks said. "When was America so great?"
The two did agree on one thing, however -- that Mr. Trump would win their home state of Michigan in the 2016 presidential election, even though the Democratic nominee had won Michigan in every election since 1992.
"Hillary didn't do her job in Michigan and I hate to say that, as a Democrat," Sparks said. "I'm always going to be honest. Hillary just believed and took the black vote for granted."
For more of Major's conversation with Monica Sparks and Jessica Ann Tyson, download "The Takeout" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. New episodes are available every Friday morning.
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