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To the backlash over President Trump's now deleted racist social

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media post depicting former President Obama and former First Lady

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Michelle Obama as apes.

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Images of black people as apes have been used throughout

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American history to dehumanize and stigmatize the community.

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The fallout is rippling through the Republican Party now.

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Chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl interviewed Republican Congressman Mike Lawler

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on the on AB CS this week.

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Here's part of their conversation.

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Well, I think sometimes in our public discourse, it is

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best to just say I'm sorry.

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You know, I take the White House at their word

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that this was a mistake.

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But at the end of the day, given the history

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of our nation, given the insensitivities with some of the

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stereotypes that have long been promulgated to attack African Americans,

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I think it's imperative to recognize that and meet the

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moment.

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For more now, Marc Morial, president of the National Urban

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League joins me live.

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Mark, thank you so much for being with us.

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Good morning to you.

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So you just heard there from Congressman Mike Lawler.

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What do you make of how many Republicans have been

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responding so far?

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It it Republicans have been, there has been condemnation so

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far in a way that we've not seen many Republicans

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speak out against the president.

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Janae, it is not enough.

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What I'd like to see is the Congress of the

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United States passed a resolution of condemnation of these reprehensible

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remarks.

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It's important in this moment that every elected member of

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Congress be on record in condemnation of this.

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This was a disparagement of two great Americans who've served

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this country who are outside of active politics today, and

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just a continuation of a pattern coming from the 47th

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president.

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The second observation I would make is I am absolutely

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certain, Janae, that the American people do not want a

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president who revels in division, racial division, political division, sectional

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division, division every day to condemn some Americans for some

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physical characteristic, for some political characteristic.

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And that what the people in this country want is

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a leader and leaders who seek to unite a very

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diverse and very nation.

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And so this flunks the presidential leadership test by 1000

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miles.

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And that's the point.

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We need to focus on what we want our presidents

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to do, and that is to work towards unity.

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This has just been a pattern, a continuing division and

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disparagement, and I want to condemn it as forcefully as

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I can because it is untoward.

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But those members of Congress, condemnation here and there from

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certain members who may think it's in their political interests,

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doesn't go far enough.

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We need a unified Congress to say by way of

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a resolution, this is unacceptable, Mr.

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President, and we want you to know that it is

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unacceptable.

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And so, Mark, what do you make of President Trump's

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reaction when he was asked about this?

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He refused to apologize, saying quote, I didn't make a

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mistake.

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Because he's following the advice he got years ago from

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Roy Cohn.

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Never admit anything.

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And you know, Janay, to admit and to apologize from

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time to time is an act of human humility.

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And when we see leaders do it, it demonstrates sense

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of character.

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It doesn't surprise me that he wouldn't take responsibility.

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And the fact that he would not very quickly take

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responsibility and say it was wrong is why the Congress

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by joint resolution should condemn this.

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And faith leaders and American citizens should say we don't

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want a president that divides us by party all the

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time, by race, by gender, by gender orientation, by religion.

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This is not who we are as a nation.

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And that's the important reason why we speak up against

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these things.

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This is not who we are.

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This is not the nation that we are.

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And that's why I think the president's approval numbers have

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become so low, because people want a president who works

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hard every day to find common ground and to unite

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us, doesn't make disparaging statements.

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So Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are revered Americans, and

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they've conducted themselves with great dignity and purpose over the

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years.

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They don't deserve this kind of gutter attack that this

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certainly represents.

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And so I hope that the Congress will not.

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We've not heard from Leader Thune.

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We've not heard from Speaker Johnson.

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Where are their voices in this?

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And I would call them at this moment to speak

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up to what your character and your principles are, even

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if it means you've got to have the courage to

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criticize the leader of your own party.

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That's what leadership is all about.

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And Mark, I have to ask you, it is Black

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History Month.

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What do you make of the timing of this post?

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It's awful.

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But what's also awful is that this president has failed

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to even recognize Black History Month in the way in

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which every president in the past has remembered Black History

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Month is by law recognized in February.

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And so it's it's just a continuing string of insults

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to the American people and certainly to those of us

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in the black community.

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But we're not going to be deterred and we're not

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going to be intimidated and we're going to speak out.

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And I think the majority of the Americans stand with

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us when it comes to the notion that we do

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not want leaders that spend their time constantly dividing us.

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No, that's not who we are as a nation.

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And the president who I've never met, you know, I

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think that he has an opportunity in a moment like

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this to demonstrate a sense of character and not just

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continue to follow the advice he got from Roy Cohn

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years ago, which is never to admit anything, never to

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apologize for anything.

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OK, that may be your position, but that's why I

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want Congress to do its job and condemn, which was

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really, really just absolutely reprehensible, but to send a bigger

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message.

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And that is, we do not want to constantly be

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divided every day with rhetoric and aspersions and divisions.

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Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, thank you

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so much for spending time with us this morning.

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We appreciate you.