Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has become a plangent voice of dissent against President Donald Trump's administration and says that she has no intention of softening her tone against the reality TV game show host turned president.
“Trump was just so outrageous, so disrespectful, such a bully and dangerous for this country, I decided, ‘You know what? I’m taking the gloves off and I’m going to step out,’” Waters told the New York Times in a profile published Saturday.
She continued, “I was going to not only challenge him but encourage others to see him for what he is: basically a bully, an egotistical maniac, a liar and someone who did not need to be president."
Embraced by Millennials online as "Auntie Maxine" for her toward Trump, the 78-year-old congresswoman has found herself a new calling and a new audience, the Times said.
Trump supporters have attacked Waters, mocking her evangelical zeal and accusing her of grandstanding.
“It’s odd that you would come out for impeachment like right at the gate,” said Ken Boehm of right-wing think tank the National Legal and Policy Center to the Times. “The guy takes his hand off the Bible and it’s like, ‘Impeach him.’”
But Waters' enthusiasm has among the throngs of young people appalled by Trump's ascent and victory in the Electoral College in spite of getting 3 million fewer votes nationwide.
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) praised Waters' passion and said that he will never forget her insistent, outspoken advocacy for the people of his district impacted Hurricane Katrina. Her confrontational tone with Pres. Trump, Richmond said, is exactly what the situation requires.
“She is meeting him where he is, and I think that is what people appreciate,” he said.
