Trump will continue to prey on fears of Americans: Jayapal

Jayapal, 51, warned she intends to be ready to stand and fight every step of the way, if Trump does not abandon the divisive rhetoric of his campaign. Immediately following Trump’s election, there have been more than 300 hate crimes reported across the US, she said. 

“By selecting Steve Bannon as chief strategist and now Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Trump has made it clear that he will continue to prey on the fears of ordinary Americans instead of uniting us as a country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Jayapal said on Friday.

She alleged Bannon has overseen a website that publishes views that are clearly racist and reflect calls for a white supremacist agenda that have absolutely no place in the US. “I denounce President-elect Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon, and call on him to revoke this appointment,” Jayapal said, adding that the announcement of Sessions as Trump’s choice for Attorney General simply continues the pattern. 

Amid reports that she was a contender for a spot in Donald Trump’s cabinet, Indian-American South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has asserted that the Republican Party needs to be inclusive and cannot afford to forget immigrants or people of colour. 

“If we as Republicans are going to lead effectively and have staying power as a governing power, we must accept that Donald Trump’s election was not an affirmation of the way Republicans have conducted themselves,” Haley told a Washington DC audience on Friday. Her remarks come amid speculation that she was a top contender for either secretary of state or secretary of commerce in Trump’s cabinet.