Tipsheet

Maxine Waters Calls the Trump White House 'Scumbags'

Ask Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) what she thinks of the Trump administration and she'll be brutally honest. Chris Hayes did - and he got a mouthful. Waters, after accusing Trump and his team of having won the presidential election thanks to Russia's interference, took to name calling.

"I just think the American people had better understand what's going on," Waters said. "This is a bunch of scumbags. That's what they are. Who are all organized around making money."

Specifically, she said, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is guilty of wanting to get Russian sanctions lifted because the former Exxon Mobil CEO is part of a "Kremlin klan" obsessed with bribes, oil and gas.

With this rhetoric, Waters does a disservice to democracy. Our elected representatives are sent to Washington in the hope that they can work together with the other branches of government to accomplish things for the American people. It's unlikely that Waters will give the "scumbags" in the White House the time of day. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) engaged in similar behavior when he and dozens of other Democrats boycotted Trump's inauguration.

These representatives' rhetoric and behavior is only fueling the fiery protests around the country - some of which are actual fires.