It looks like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t the only politician who thinks that America was never great.
In pointed terms during an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, Obama-era attorney general Eric Holder posed the question to MAGA-chanting Trump supporters: “Exactly when did you think America was great?”
The comments echoed those of Cuomo, who took heavy criticism for remarking last year that America “was never that great.” Together, both off-the-cuff comments amount to stunning statements from public figures who until recently were considered potential presidential candidates. In both cases, the Democrats took shots at America’s past as part of an effort to criticize President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
After speaking during Wednesday’s MSNBC interview with Holder on topics like criminal justice reform and partisan redistricting – which the ex-AG says is now his focus instead of running for the White House in 2020 – host Ari Melber had asked him: “There is a lot of talk about America being a leader as a democracy, quote unquote, in the 1800s when women and African-Americans couldn’t vote. What kind of democracy is that?”
Holder, unprovoked, then used his answer to tear into Trump’s campaign rally cry.
I hear these things about ‘let’s make America great again’ and I think to myself, exactly ‘when did you think America was great’?— Former Attorney General Eric Holder on MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber”
“That’s exactly right. And that’s what I hear these things about ‘let’s make America great again’ and I think to myself, ‘exactly when did you think America was great’?” he said on the show.
“It certainly wasn’t when people were enslaved. It certainly wasn’t when women didn’t have the right to vote. It certainly wasn’t when the LGBT community was denied the rights to which it was entitled.”
Melber then asked Holder if he believes Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan had discriminatory undertones.
“Does that phrase echo as discrimination in your ears?” the MSNBC host asked.
“It takes us back to what I think, an American past that never in fact really existed. This notion of greatness,” Holder replied.
“You know, America has done superb things. It has done great things. And it has been a leader in you know, a whole range of things. But we are always a work in process and … looking back, ‘Make America Great Again’ is inconsistent with who we are as Americans at our best where we look at the uncertain future, embrace it and make it our own.”
Holder’s comments Wednesday echo remarks made by Cuomo last year in which he drew gasps and chuckles from an audience by declaring that America “was never that great.”
“We’re not going to make America great again. It was never that great,” Cuomo said during a bill signing event in New York last August. “We have not reached greatness, we will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged, we will reach greatness when discrimination and stereotyping against women, 51 percent of our population, is gone and every woman’s full potential is realized and unleashed and every woman is making her full contribution,” he continued.
Cuomo’s office later was in damage control mode and said the governor “believes America is great and that her full greatness will be fully realized when every man, woman and child has full equality.”
“America has not yet reached its maximum potential,” it added.
Src: Fox News
You are very simplistic. You can’t see the struggles that America fought when we fought to become independent from England. You can’t see the strides made by African Americans to get an education
after the civil war did you ever heard of Tuskegee University? How about 100 thousand southerners that
fought for the union instead of the south-that took courage. How about the African Americans who were in
the colored Regiment-that’s not great Do we have to be perfect to understand our greatness. I could go on
and on with examples but will you understand
The answer to your comment is when did the United States be great–well it was until you and the Obama idiots took office–Mr holder you and the the obama was about to make us a 20th class country until Mr. Trump took office. I am a retired military person and after you and Obama become the leaders –we went down the hill. HOLDER WAS YOU BORN HERE–IF NOT GET OUT. You was the worst kind of American we ever can have. If you were born in the USA==go back to where you relatives came from. You are a big disgrace to the USA and the American People
I see a lot of difference between the perspectives. It is possible that it was a winning slogan because there was so much to do to recover from the past 8years.
Mostly, America’s greatness does come from each individual accomplishing their potential while focused on the liberating values established in our founding. Our Constitution. The documents that were divinely providentially inspired to create a more perfect union.
This is the work in progress of the American…not the Constitution. I am afraid this is the part liberals don’t get and what presidents like Obama got wrong. We do not need to “fundamentally transform” our constitution. We need to understand it and abide her laws. Yes, blind justice.
Gary
Message to SKANK Eric Holder: MAGA, MAGA, MAGA, MAGA – if you don’t like it, move to Venezuela or Cuba – places that must be more to your liking!
LOL…I’m not sure why anyone would care what gay Barry’s butt plug has to say!
Losers like Eric Holder never saw greatness. USA has always been great, only tarnish by that failed American Experiment
Eric Holder doesn’t have to leave the country just because you want it. How would you like it if I told you to leave the country. Don, we all know what MAGA means: “Please, Daddy Trump. Take us back to the 1950s when we could kill a nigger with the unlicensed gun we kept in our cars. Please, Daddy, take us back to the 1950s, a time when America was great for white men.”
Screw Holder the “Traitor”
When was America great. Before Obama was elected
American was great before Obama and Holder got into office and now that they’re gone America is on it’s way back to greatness. Holder…go suck on a volcano.
Eric holder is trying to race bait people he thinks he is being clever. As soon as you give him a time period he is going to claim minorities were virtual slaves at that time. So eric holder how about this. It was great in 1984. 30 years after the equal rights amendment was passed and 20 years after the blacks were given preferential treatment over whites via affirmative action. So eric holder come up with some lying story and minorities getting poor treatment in 19i84 eric the ass holder. Fortunately for the rest of us Reagan had corrected the economy after the prior disastrous democrst president had screwed it up just like Obama did.
The Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, not in 1954, not ever.
LOL…I’m not sure why anyone would care what gay Barry’s butt plug has to say!
Cuomo and Holder. If you don’t like America, get you’re asses OUT. YOU INSULT EVERY PERSON WHO ARE PATRIOTS AND ALL AMERICANS WHO FOUGHT AND DIED PROTECTING THIS COUNTRY. GO GET A JOB SELLING SHOES OR VACUUMS IF YOU DON’T LIKE OUR CONSTITUTION.
Eric holder is a useless twat who broke so many laws when he was AG they’d have to build an entire prison to warehouse him and his cronies. Hopefully by MAGA, no loser like holder will ever be AG again. If this place sucks so bad, why don’t they leave??
No one is insisting that you stay where you are so unhappy. Do you need help packing?
No one is asking you to stay in a place where you are so unhappy! Do you need help packing?
Just who in the hell do these two dweebs think they are? I’d love to see Holder tell a Veteran that “America was never that great”. He had better start ducking! And the same goes for Cuomo the worthless Nanny Stater.
OK, drop the again and just make America Great !
Just another example with Eric Holder and Jussie Smollett “Black LIES matter !
Since when has the US ever been the “perfect” example of the old American ideals? Because of our being a nation of imperfect individuals, who, when getting power often become rather corrupted hypocrites, operate inconsistent with those ideals. That is the reality of being human. The ideals set forth in the constitution is an attempt at thwarting the corrupting by power-hungry politicians. The substitute the liberals are championing is setting up an elite with no check on their power, believing in the elite not becoming corrupted by power. History shows that faith in such an idea is preposterous. Tyranny is what results.
The “great” that I see in America (US) is that the system initially set up in America has withstood transitioning into absolute tyranny. We are on the brink of changing that. We “the people” will have to enjoy the consequence of choosing that with our vote.
Eric Holder just showed how dumb he is about United States History. Doubt if he’s ever pick up a history book of the US and how it became the greatest country for the past 240 some years. Holder has a head full of mush for brains.
The traitor eric holder needs to be executed using extreme prejudice. Shoot this moslem-loving swine between the eyes and then send his body to barack.
The reason is simple he is a MORON. Like his ex boss he is too STUPID for anyone’s good. They both are WORTHLESS piles of FECAL MATTER.
President Trump is not the inventor of the Make America Great Slogan. President Reagan used the slogan first in 1979 during the 1980 presidential race. Bill Clinton then used it in 1991 during the 1992 presidential race. These political hacks know this, they just are used to lying to the public. Let’s use this as political weapon. What is truly sad is how ignorant most of the American public is about some of these things.
Obama created OFA,,, when the DNC saw Obama getting out of control, demanded oFA be disbanded, Obama gave Directorship to Eric Holder. the Funded illegally one billion of DOJ dollars into the ‘501s’ of OFA, BLM and LaRaza. OFA effectively organizes BLM, LaRaza provides legal representations for…OFA, BLM and themselves, LaRaza.
These activist groups, OFA, BLM and LaRaza are entirely about ‘fundamental change of America- Holder Directs them… now you ACCURATELY know why Holder is against ‘MAGA’.
You might understand better now know why Charlottesville actually happened.
Its funny how Cuomo said rights to all men, women, and children. Cuomo what about the rights to all of the innocent babies that you and your kind murder everyday. What about their rights? I hope you, holder, and all of your kind are delt with in the most severe way. POS that’s all you will ever be in my eyes.
At least Eric Holder agrees that America was not great during his tenure under the Obama administration
At least Eric Holder admits that America was not great during his tenure with the DOJ during the Obama administration.
Well it certainly wasn’t great when Eric was there.
Erick HOlder is one of the largest POS ever to be in our government, second only to Obama himself. The scheme they worked out failed and the sneaky way they moved his replacement into the position brought only disgrace. This IS the swamp. The Clintons, Obamas, Congressional leaders, even Oprah Winfrey, are all in this up to their ears. They DON’T hate the president they hate what he stands for and the only way they can continue their underhanded, crooked operations is to get him.