Rep. Byron Donalds' (R-FL) interview with CNN's Brianna Keilar got a little heated as they were discussing how he has been denied membership in the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday.
Keilar suggested Donalds' support for former President Donald Trump is "incongruent with the mission of the CBC" because of Trump's past controversial statements.
"First of all, whatever the president said in the past has nothing to do with this discussion at all. I think it’s important to understand that..." Donalds began to reply.
Keilar began to interject about how Donalds has defended Trump in the past, with Donalds telling Keilar to not cut him off, given he had not interrupted her during the interview.
"As a black man in America, I’m allowed to have my own thoughts on who I choose to support and who I choose not to support. I think that it’s important whether you’re talking about the Congressional Black Caucus or the Florida State Legislative Black Caucus or The National Caucus of State Black Legislators, organizations I have been a part of in the past, my support of President Trump has been consistent, but at the same time, I’ve had the ability to advocate for issues, ideas, proposals, and funding that have helped the black community in my state. You are talking to somebody who my first three years in college was at Florida A&M, an HBCU," Donalds said.
"My support for President Trump, whether it’s for or against, is irrelevant. That has nothing to do with this discussion. This is whether the ideology of somebody who is conservative is welcome in the Congressional Black Caucus. It’s really that simple. So to bring up President Trump to make this about him does not matter. It’s irrelevant. It has nothing to do with the situation at hand," he continued.
"The Congressional Black Caucus has a stated commitment to ensuring Black Americans have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. As a newly elected Black Member of Congress, my political party should not exempt me from a seat at the table dedicated to achieving this goal. As a young Black man who grew up in the inner city of Brooklyn in a single-parent household, my achieving of the American Dream would be a valued addition to the CBC and one that should transcend politics," Donalds said in a statement to Townhall.