GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy: "We will lose" if we continue to idolize Trump
28 February 2021
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday he does not believe that former President Trump will, or should, be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.
What he's saying: Cassidy pointed out that "over the last four years, [Republicans] lost the House of Representatives, the Senate and the presidency. That has not happened ... since Herbert Hoover."
Cassidy said he believes the GOP should listen to the voters who they did not attract in the past election. He added that he wants to push successful policies in the next elections, and that he is concerned that the GOP won't win if they continue to "idolize" Trump.
- "If we plan to win in 2022 and 2024, we have to listen to the voters. Not just those who really like president trump, but also those who perhaps are less sure," said Cassidy.
Asked if he believes Trump will be the next Republican nominee for president, Cassidy responded, "Our agenda does not move forward unless we win. We need a candidate that cannot only win himself or herself, but we have to have someone who lifts all boats.
- "And that's clearly not happened over the last four years, so that's a theoretical that I don't think will come to pass."
Go deeper: Trump’s blunt weapon: State GOP leaders
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.