A Michigan Democrat poised to become the first Muslim woman in Congress says that the election of President Donald Trump could be a reason for the historic number of women running for office across the country.
In an interview with CNN’s Brooke Baldwin on “Newsroom” Wednesday, Rashida Tlaib discussed how progressive women’s drive to run for office was shaped by Trump’s election.
“I think a lot of that drive does come from President Trump being in office and just the culture and atmosphere that he brings to that office and to our country,” Tlaib said.
Tlaib also cited Trump as one of her own personal reasons for running for office. Tlaib was arrested two years ago for disrupting a Trump speech in downtown Detroit, where she shouted at him that “our kids deserve better” and encouraged him to read the Constitution.
“It was like it’s our time and we have to march on and can’t stand outside of the ring anymore,” Tlaib said. “We have to actually have to run for office and we have to demand to have a seat at the table.”
As part of her campaign platform, Tlaib promised to impeach Trump, a policy she said was a response to questions from constituents about how she would oppose the President.
“I think it was important because when I was going door to door, people asked me ‘What are you going to do about Trump?’ ” she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” Wednesday. “They wanted answers. They wanted to know whether I was going to push back on some of the Trump rhetoric, but also some of the actions while he’s in office.”
She told Cooper she pledged to impeach Trump because “I wanted to assure them that I would be in full force supportive of pushing forward in any investigation of any possible violations on his behalf.”
She also acknowledged, however, that “a lot of this is going to be dependent on the investigation.”
A record number of women are running for public office this year, but women still make up less than 20% of Congress.
Tlaib beat out a crowded field of Democratic opponents in the primary election on Tuesday and will not face a Republican opponent in the November general election. She can still be opposed by a write-in candidate, but she is the overwhelming favorite in the deeply Democratic district.
