Collins Challenges Abrams on Hypocritical Election Fraud Statements

July 31st, 2024 7:01 PM

As the media has been filled with the overwhelming liberal bias, regarding Kamala Harris’ campaign, instances of non-partisan journalism have become hard to find. On Tuesday night’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams was confronted for her hypocritical statements by the CNN host. 

Towards the end of the interview, Collins asked about Abrams’s failed campaign for Georgia governorship:

I was listening to Donald Trump the other day and he still talks about the election being stolen. We all know it wasn't. We've seen that we've litigated that literally in courts and in many interviews. But I would've given the fact that he still uses that language. And so often when we confront Republican officials about that, I often get people bring up remarks that you made after your governor race with Brian Kemp in Georgia, that you lost, that he won, and the comments that you made after that. I wonder if you have regrets about the language that you use, casting doubt on the outcome of that election in light of what we now see and how Republicans use that to bolster their defense of Trump's claims of a stolen election.

 

 

Abrams responded by stating that she had only questioned, “the process that was used,” complaining that “the process was flawed.”

Yet, Collins persisted before Abrams cut her off:

COLLINS: I do remember the time you told the New York Times, ‘I won.’ You did describe it as a stolen election. The courts did side with the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger - -

ABRAMS: That’s actually -- Kaitlan, Kaitlan, that's actually incorrect. And normally I wouldn't cut you off, but you're repeating disinformation. What the court said, if you read the entire opinion, was that despite the flaws in the process that we acknowledge that the court's acknowledged, they were no longer permitted to complete and fix them. They could not, correct the mistakes because the law had changed between 2018 and 2022 when the case was finally adjudicated. There was never a moment where they said what happened was right.

Abrams continued her diatribe on the issue, stating, “I believed then and I believe now - - I have never been the governor of Georgia. I've never claimed to be the governor of Georgia. What I have said is that voters were denied their full rights.”

For the record, Abrams is quoted by The New York Times stating, “It was not a fair election.” She can also be quoted making similar comments over 35 times since the race in 2018. It brings up a major point towards the hypocrisy of Abrams actions, and the fact that they often go unchecked.

Collins also noted, “the court said that ‘although Georgia's election system is not perfect. The challenge practices violate neither the constitution nor the Voting Rights Act.’” 

Credit must be given to Collins for this rare move from CNN.

The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:

CNN The Source with Kaitlan Collins
7/30/2024
09:11:23 PM EST

(...)

KAITLAN COLLINS: I'm curious. I was listening to Donald Trump the other day and he still talks about the election being stolen. We all know it wasn't. We've seen that, we've litigated that literally in courts, and in many interviews. But I would've given the fact that he still uses that language. And so often when we confront Republican officials about that I often get people bring up remarks that you made after your governor race with Brian Kemp in Georgia, that you lost, that he won, and the comments that you made after that. I wonder if you have regrets about the language that you use, casting doubt on the outcome of that election in light of what we now see and how Republicans use that to bolster their defense of Trump's claims of a stolen election. 

STACEY ABRAMS: Well, go back to elementary school again and use comprehension as the basis. I acknowledged that Brian Kemp won that election. What I called into question was the process that was used and courts agreed with us again and again during the overtime after Election Day and again afterwards. So much so that he actually signed legislation to fix some of the problems that we were able to reveal. I never once said that he did not win. What I said is that the process was flawed and that's why we have the Voting Rights Act in the United States. That's why we have the Help America Vote Act. We know that sometimes we don't get it right and it takes calling out the mistakes to improve. I'm always going to be proud of fighting for voters fighting for Americans, making certain that every vote that gets cast gets counted. That's work that I'm proud to do, whether I'm a candidate or a citizen, and I'm going to make certain that in 2024 every vote that gets cast, gets counted and that every American who wants to vote is eligible to do so, feels comfortable that they can do so in our country.

COLLINS: Well, I do remember the time you told the New York Times, “I won.” You did describe it as a stolen election. The courts did side with the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger - -

ABRAMS: That’s actually -- Kaitlan, Kaitlan, that's actually incorrect. And normally I wouldn't cut you off, but you're repeating disinformation. What the court said, if you read the entire opinion, was that despite the flaws in the process that we acknowledge, that the court's acknowledged, they were no longer permitted to complete and fix them. They could not, correct the mistakes because the law had changed between 2018 and 2022 when the case was finally adjudicated. There was never a moment where they said what happened was right. What they said was there was no capacity to correct the mistakes. And so it's important that we not only use the headlines, but we read the fine print because that's where the mistakes were made.

COLLINS: Yeah.

ABRAMS: That's where the challenges are. I believed then and I believe now -- I have never been the governor of Georgia. I've never claimed to be the governor of Georgia. What I have said is that voters were denied their full rights. Courts agreed with me in the time of that election, they agreed with me post-election, the state made changes to the flaws, some of them, unfortunately, too many of them have been restored in different ways and we continue to face voter suppression, not only in Georgia, but around the country because Republicans are using the ability to change the laws because we no longer have the protection of the Voting Rights Act to make it harder for average voters to show up at the polls and have their votes counted, that should be the that should be where our focus is that should be where our attention is and anyone who tries to distract us from that is not doing the work of protecting democracy in America.

COLLINS: And I take your point that obviously you do not agree with the laws that replaced, you didn't like the new ones that governor Kemp signed. But -- and we do read past the headlines in the fine print and one of them, the court said that “although Georgia's election system is not perfect. The challenge practices violate neither the constitution nor the Voting Rights Act.” And so I just wanted to give you a chance to respond to that, given it is something we've heard from Senator Ted Cruz and others on this show. Stacey Abrams, thank you for your time tonight.

ABRAMS: Thank you Kaitlan.