(CN) – In a concession speech Monday, ousted Republican Congresswoman Mia Love of Utah took several parting shots at President Donald Trump, the GOP and Washington politics.
Love, the only black Republican woman in Congress, said her party has failed to embrace minority communities and called the GOP’s relationship with communities of color “transactional, not personal.”
“This election experience and these moments shine a spotlight on the problems Washington politicians have with minorities and black Americans. It’s transactional. It’s not personal,” Love said. “We feel like politicians claim they know what’s best for us from a safe distance. Yet they’re never willing to take us home.”
She said Democrats have long captured the minority vote because of that emotional connection.
“Republicans never take minority communities into their homes and hearts; they stay with Democrats and bureaucrats in Washington because they make them feel like they have a home,” Love said before adding: “But minority communities need to ask themselves at what cost? What is the cost of staying with the Democrat party that perpetually delivers exactly what you need to stay exactly where you are? To make poverty tolerable instead of temporary?”
Love lost her bid for re-election to Ben McAdams, a Democrat and mayor of Salt Lake City, after a tight and brutal race that ended last week with McAdams winning with less than 1 percent of the popular vote.
In a speech just after Election Day, Trump jeered at Love for having lost the race even while votes were still being counted. He said her loss was due to her failure to invite him to Utah.
“Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia,” he said.
On Monday, Love shot back.
“When President Trump took a jab at me because he thought that the race was over and he lamented that I wouldn’t ask him to come to the state of Utah I was somewhat surprised at first. The president’s behavior toward me made me wonder, what did he have to gain by saying such a thing about a fellow Republican? It was not really about asking him to do more, was it? Or was it something else? Well, Mr. President, we’ll have to chat about that,” she said. “However, this gave me a clear vision of his world as it is: no real relationships, just convenient transactions.”
Love said she’d called McAdams to congratulate him on his victory. Then she added, “I believe we have elected a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The question remains at what cost to the people of Utah?”
For her part, Love said she’s “not going away” though she isn’t sure she’ll run again in 2020. She said she felt her talents were not well used in Washington, where “it’s more about who takes credit for what bills than putting your best foot forward.”
She continued: “But now I am unleashed, I am untethered and I am unshackled, and I can say exactly what’s on my mind.”
As Love left the podium, a reporter asked if she’ll be meeting with Trump when she goes back to Washington. Without looking back, she said, “I’m sure.”
Follow @MariaDinzeo
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