Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright defended Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) for calling out Kellyanne Conway after the White House counselor took aim at Pressley for voting against a border aid bill backed by President Trump.
“What you saw from Ayanna Pressley is what I think we have to see more from Democrats,” Seawright, who identifies himself as a center-left Democrat, told Hill.TV’s Saagar Enjeti and Krystal Ball on “Rising.”
“And that’s pushing back and punching back at the recklessness that comes out of this administration and some of Trump’s number one disciples,” he added.
Pressley tore into Conway on Tuesday for mocking a disagreement between she and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other progressive Democrats about the border aid bill.
“Major Meow Mashup with @SpeakerPelosi brushing back anti-humanitarian border aid fresh-women @AOC @IlhanMN @AyannaPressley @RashidaTlaib,” Conway tweeted.
The freshman Democrat commented on the tweet, warning Conway to “keep my name out of your lying mouth.”
“.@KellyannePolls oh hi Distraction Becky,” she wrote. “Remember that time your boss tore babies from their mothers’ arms and threw them in cages? Yeah take a seat and keep my name out of your lying mouth.”
The clash comes after Pelosi said Pressley and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) “have their public whatever and their Twitter world” but “didn’t have any following.”
“They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got,” Pelosi said in an interview published over the weekend.
Pelosi scolded Democrats on Wednesday for taking shots at each other in public and called for more unity heading into the 2020 elections.
“You got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it. But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just OK,” Pelosi told Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday.
The dustup marked one of the biggest ruptures for Democrats in the lower chamber since seizing the House majority last fall.
Seawright downplayed party infighting, saying it’s a sign that Democrats are just undergoing some growing pains.
“No doubt in my mind that our caucus and our party is experiencing what I would define as growing pains and I think the world is seeing the display of the diversity in our Congress,” he said.
—Tess Bonn
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