OANN interview, July , 2020. Transcription by Rev.com
Intro voice:
A Georgia Senator, Kelly Loeffler, has come under fire recently for opposing the WNBA’s frequent protests during the National Anthem. One America’s Jack Posobiec sat down with her to learn more.
Jack P:
All right, Senator Loeffler, thank you so much for sitting down with us here with One America News.
Kelly Loeffler:
Yeah. Great to be with you, the- Jack. Thanks for having me on.
Jack P:
Now, I wanted to ask, so you’re obviously, you know, very associated with the WNBA, you’re a co-owner of a team there out of Atlanta, and you had some strong words recently for a protest that took place during, or actually before the National Anthem. Tell me about that?
Kelly Loeffler:
Well you’re right. I am a- a co-owner of the WNBA Atlanta Dream. You know sports has such power to unite us, and I- I felt some of the recent actions that the league has taken has really, um, moved to divide us further at this moment, when I think, sports could be such a powerful, uniting force in our- in our country. And when the players refuse to, um, stay on the court for the, um, National Anthem, of all things, that they did not feel that this was the right thing to do, um, I had to speak out. Because look, if anything, this country we should rally behind the flag, the National Anthem, because it is the thing that unites us. It provides for that equality, that- that freedom that we continue to strive for in this country, like no other around the world.
Kelly Loeffler:
And- and that’s why I spoke out against the political organization, Black Lives Matter. And let me be very clear, the statement Black Lives Matter is very different from this political organization, which has Marxist roots, Marxist foundations. They believe in defunding the police. They promoted anti-Semitism and violence. And this isn’t helping our country move forward around the important conversations that we really could be having.
Jack P:
Now what kind of a reaction have you received from within the WNBA on that?
Kelly Loeffler:
Well obviously, it- you know, the reaction has been pretty, uh, swift and- and angry, uh, which I think is- is completely expected in today’s cancel culture. Where if you are disagreed with, they want to cancel you. They want to take away your business. They want to boycott you. They want to kick you out of your job, or your school. And I’m standing up to say this is a country where we have freedom of expression. You should not be canceled for saying what you believe. And I believe that any organization that wants to defund the police, that wants to disrupt the traditional family, moms and dads, they don’t believe in it. I don’t think that’s what our organization stands for, but yet, no ones looked behind the curtain of this organization that receives it’s funding through a mechanism called ActBlue, which is designed to elect liberals, uh, to promote liberal causes, and I just don’t think people have looked into this enough. And that’s why I had to raise the awareness.
Jack P:
Now, of course, you- you represent the City of Atlanta. The city there has seen a lot of, uh, protest, but also a lot of violence in the wake of those, over the past two months. The President has talked about sending federal law enforcement power to some of these areas, uh, that need it, that really need this augment. Obviously Portland has been the focus, Seattle’s been the focus. Uh, I don’t know if Atlanta has been one of- on the question, do you have it really on the bubble. But if it were, and just sort of broadly, what are your thoughts on the President, and AG Barr use, and Chad Wolf’s use, uh, fed law enforcement for some of these problem areas?
Kelly Loeffler:
Well the- the uh, surge in federal agents, Operation Legend, is much needed right now across the country, Atlanta included. What we saw happening in Atlanta very early on, was an autonomous zone, that I warned about, that I spoke out about, and I was criticized for- for saying that we need to stop this- this lawlessness happening in the streets. I was criticized for that, and yet, just days later an eight year old girl, little girl, was gunned down in the street, Secoriea Turner. There was no outrage from the BLM organization, no one spoke out against this lawlessness. In fact, it seemed to be supported by our elected leaders. And- and in fact, the Mayor of Atlanta has actually signed a letter opposing Operation Legend coming to Atlanta should it be needed.
Kelly Loeffler:
Now the Governor has taken strong action to activate the National Guard, and I think he’s exactly right. It’s help keep things, uh, at the right level. We need to protect the ability to peacefully protest. But what we’re seeing in Portland is not peaceful. Sixty-two straight, consecutive nights of lawlessness, of rioting mobs taking over the city, and that being endorsed by the Mayor and the Governor. And that’s just wrong. That’s why we need federal, uh, agents in there supporting local law enforcements. And I’ll continue to support the President in all his efforts to keep Americans safe. That’s our first duty as elected officials.
Jack P:
Thank you so much, Kelly Loeffler for sitting down with us here at One America News. I appreciate your time.
Kelly Loeffler:
Such a pleasure. Thanks, Jack.
