About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2018)
4A Thursday, November 22, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com WASHINGTON/POLITICS ROGELIO V. SOLIS I Associated Press Appointed U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Democrat Mike Espy greet each other before their televised Mississippi U.S. Senate debate in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Nov. 20. Senator apologizes during debate for ‘hanging’ remark Tor anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statement.’ Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss. BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. - A white Republican U.S. sena tor from Mississippi said during a debate with her African-American Demo cratic opponent Tuesday that she apologizes to people who were offended when she complimented a sup porter by saying she would attend a “public hanging” if the supporter invited her. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s remark was caught on video that was released last week. It has brought widespread criticism both inside and outside Mississippi, a state with a history of racially motivated lynchings. “For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent what soever in my statement,” Hyde-Smith said Tuesday during a televised debate with Democrat Mike Espy. The apology was a new approach for Hyde-Smith, who repeatedly refused to answer questions about the hanging comment at a news conference Nov. 12, the day after the publisher of a lib eral-leaning news site posted the video on social media. The clip shows Hyde- Smith praising a cattle rancher at a Nov. 2 cam paign event in Tupelo by saying: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” Shortly after the video’s release, she said in a statement the expression was an “exaggerated expres sion of regard” and said it is “ridiculous” to read any negative connotation into it. “There has never been anything, not one thing, in my background to ever indi cate I had ill will toward any one,” Hyde-Smith, a former state agriculture commis sioner, said Tuesday night. “I’ve never been hurtful to anyone. I’ve always tried to help everyone. I also recognize that this com ment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me, a political weapon used for nothing but personal and political gain by my opponent. That’s the type of politics Mississippi- ans are sick and tired of.” Espy responded dur ing the debate: “No one’s twisted your comments because your comments were live, you know, it came out of your mouth. I don’t know what’s in your heart but I know what came out of your mouth. It went viral in the first three minutes around the world. And so it’s caused our state harm. It’s given our state another black eye that we don’t need. It’s just rejuvenated those stereotypes that we don’t need anymore.” Hyde-Smith is the first woman to represent Missis sippi in Congress. Espy is a former congressman and U.S. agriculture secretary, is seeking to become the state’s first African-American sena tor since Reconstruction. During the debate, Hyde- Smith questioned a $750,000 lobbying contract Espy had in 2011 with the Cocoa and Coffee Board of the Ivory Coast. She noted that the country’s ex-president, Lau rent Gbagbo, is being tried in the International Crimi nal Court for crimes against humanity, including, Hyde- Smith said, “murder, rape and unspeakable things against young girls.” “I don’t know how many Mississippians can really relate to an income that can command a $750,000 check from one person for a lob bying job,” said Hyde-Smith, who is a cattle rancher. Espy, an attorney, said: “I found out later that this guy, the president, was a really bad guy. I resigned the contract.” Federal registration papers show Espy termi nated the contract two weeks before its scheduled end. Hours before Tuesday’s debate, President Donald Trump defended Hyde- Smith’s “public hanging” remark, saying at the White House she loves the people of Mississippi and the U.S. “It was just sort of said in jest,” Trump said. “She’s a tremendous woman and it’s a shame that she has to go through this.” Walmart asked Hyde- Smith to return a $2,000 cam paign contribution because of the hanging remark. Walmart spokeswoman LeMia Jenkins said Tues day the company donated to Hyde-Smith Nov. 8, before the release of the video with the “public hanging” remark. Hyde-Smith’s campaign did not respond to Associ ated Press questions about whether it would refund Walmart’s contribution. Trump is traveling to Mis sissippi for two Hyde-Smith rallies Monday on the eve of the election. Former Vice President Joe Biden has endorsed Espy. Hyde-Smith was appointed to the Senate to temporarily succeed longtime Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired in April amid health concerns. 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As he departed Tuesday for Florida to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday at his private club in Palm Beach, Trump said he’d soon cor rect the oversight. “I’m going to a war zone,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about his support for the troops. He did not say when he would be making the trip or where he planned to go. An official said a White House team recently returned from beginning to plan for such a visit. The omission is one of a long list of norm-breaking moves that underscore the president’s increasingly fraught relationship with the military, which has celebrated Trump’s invest ments in defense spending but cringed at what some see as efforts to politicize their service. Just this week, Trump leveled criticism against the storied commander of the 2011 mission that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, retired Adm. Wil liam McRaven. “Wouldn’t it have been nice if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that, wouldn’t it have been nice?” Trump said. The latest controversy followed a pattern of con cerns raised by former senior military officers about Trump’s grasp of the military’s role, and it comes as White House aides and defense officials have raised alarm about what they view as the president’s disinterest in briefings about troop deployments overseas. Shortly after taking office, Trump appeared to try to deflect responsibility for the death of a service member, William “Ryan” Owens, in a failed operation in Yemen, saying planning for the mission began under his predecessor and was backed by senior military commanders. “They explained what they wanted to do, the gener als, who are very respected,” he told “Fox & Friends” at the time. “And they lost Ryan.” Trump won the White House on a platform of ending U.S. military com mitments abroad, but he’s been bedeviled by many of the same challenges as his predecessors. More American troops are now deployed in conflict zones than when he took office. Aides have suggested that Trump is wary of traveling to conflict zones where he doesn’t fully sup port the mission. Trump begrudgingly backed a surge of troops in Afghani stan last year and boosted U.S. deployments in Iraq, Syria and Africa to counter the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Trump said last week in a “Fox News Sunday” interview that he was “very much opposed to the war in Iraq. I think it was a tre mendous mistake, should have never happened.” Trump, in fact, offered lukewarm support for the invasion at the time but began offering public doubts about the mission after the conflict began in March 2003. At home, some assert that Trump’s decision to send thousands of active- duty troops to the U.S.-Mex- ico border shortly before the Nov. 6 midterm elec tions was a political stunt. And Defense Department officials said they rejected requests by the Depart ment of Homeland Security — and backed by the White House — for armed active- duty troops to bolster Bor der Patrol agents, saying it ran afoul of federal law. Trump also drew criticism for his decision not to visit Arlington National Cemetery to mark Veterans Day, following his trip to Europe. He said later he “should have” vis ited the cemetery but was too busy with offi cial business. In the “Fox News Sun day” interview, Trump was asked why he hadn’t visited the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in the two years he’s served as com mander in chief. “Well, I think you will see that happen,” he said. “There are things that are being planned.” He also touted his sup port for the men and women in uniform. “I don’t think anybody’s been more with the mili tary than I have, as a presi dent,” Trump said. “In terms of funding, in terms of all of the things I’ve been able to get them, includ ing the vets, I don’t think anybody’s done more than me.” Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, four for education and one for a diagnosis of bone spurs — though he later told The New York Times he could not remember which foot was affected by the malady or how long it lasted. Trump told The Associ ated Press in a recent inter view that he doesn’t think visiting troops in a war zone is “overly necessary.” “I’ve been very busy with everything that’s taking place here,” he added. Trump ff Warm Approach to Senior Living Manor Lake Assisted Living & Memory Care Gainesville Gainesville's Newest Senior Living Community When faced with a difficult decision, you’ll find relief at Manor Lake in Gainesville. We are more than just meals and medication; We focus on the individual and make each day a celebration of life. Come In for a FREE evaluation at our leasing office. Caring for Body, Mind, and Spirit <500000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Leasing Office: 2654 Browns Bridge Rd, Unit B, Gainesville, GA 30504 Community Address: 2900 McEver Rd, Gainesville, GA 30504 678-940-1101 manorlakegv.com • ED@ManorLakeGV.com
