Philadelphia Congressman Dwight Evans was just elected to serve his first term in Washington, and he’s already had his first trial by fire.
Evans, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania’s second congressional district, got into a heated, sometimes inaudible yelling match with Fox News host / Megyn Kelly replacement / professional arguer Tucker Carlson Wednesday night over president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Most notably, Carlson pressed Evans on why he wasn’t able to comment on Trump’s plan for “black America” — because he hadn’t seen it.
Carlson invited Evans onto the show to discuss why he and some of his Democratic colleagues are boycotting Friday’s inauguration ceremonies. Evans, who replaced longtime-congressman-turned-convict Chaka Fattah, said he’s boycotting for three reasons: 1. He disagrees with Trump’s position on the Affordable Care Act. 2. He’s concerned about Russian interference in the election. 3. He was turned off by the president-elect’s comments about Rep. John Lewis.
Evans went on to say that he feels he could find common ground with Trump on investing in improvements to infrastructure.
“That’s a good point,” Carlson responded. “You have a majority black district. It’s one of the most heavily African American congressional districts in the country. The Trump campaign released some time ago what they’re calling ‘the New Deal for black America.’ The 10-point plan. What did you think of that?”
Evans responded: “I haven’t really seen it. I’d be open to see exactly what he’s talking about.”
Trump’s campaign released the so-called “New Deal for Black America” on Oct. 31 on his website. It features the above-mentioned 10 points, including improving school choice, implementing tax reforms to spur job creation and investing in inner-city infrastructure.
“Wait, wait, wait. Stop for a sec,” Carlson said as Evans continued speaking. “What do you mean you haven’t seen it? The president-elect, who is going to become the president on Friday, released a ten-point plan for majority black districts and you haven’t seen it? Why?”
Evans repeated himself that, had he seen the plan, he’d be happy to discuss it. But “he (Trump) has not provided it to me.”
“What do you mean? It’s on the Internet,” Carlson responded. “He’s been talking about it speech after speech. And I mean, you may disagree with it or not, but why wouldn’t you make an effort to find out what he’s saying?”
Evans responded that it hasn’t come up for a vote yet, to which Carlson said: “He’s not president yet.”
The two continued to spar over why Evans hadn’t seen the plan. Then Carlson asked Evans about school choice — Evans is pro-charter schools, he said — and infrastructure improvements specified in the Trump campaign’s plan.
Here’s the eight-minute interview in full, complete with the talking-heads-yell-at-each-other middle section. The fun begins around the 4:40 mark.
