Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) apologized at an event Tuesday that her “impeach the mother***er” remark about President Trump was a “distraction” but would not apologize for the remark itself.
"I am a person that is authentically me," Tlaib told reporters at a Michigan Veterans Foundation event. "I’m very passionate about fighting for all of us, and the use of that language was a teachable moment for me."
"I understand that I am a member of Congress, and I don’t want anything that I do or say to distract us. And that’s the only thing that I apologize for is that it was a distraction," she said.
Rep. Tlaib on "impeach the motherf---er" comment: "I don’t want anything that I do or say distract us. And that’s the only thing I will apologize for, is that it was a distraction ... I want you to know that I will never apologize for being me, and for being passionate and upset" pic.twitter.com/4Mp7nbvPZR
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 8, 2019
Tlaib said she had a “right” to be passionate and upset.
"I am a woman of color,” she emphasized, “people like us never run for office and when we do, this is who we are."
"We’re as angry and upset as everybody else and passionate," she continued. "However, we have a course that we have to stick to and nothing I should say should distract us from that."
When a reporter followed up asking if she would apologize for the remark itself in addition to the “distraction” it caused, Tlaib said she would not apologize for being herself.
"I want you to know that I will never apologize for being me and for being passionate and upset," she said.
Tlaib’s initial comment drew criticism from many in her own party.
However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) responded to them by saying she had a “generational reaction” to the language but she was “not in the censorship business.”