On the recordJanuary 10, 2020
It is my honor to be recognized to address you here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. I come to the floor today, Mr. Speaker, because this is the 1-year anniversary of the date that a disparaging misquote in The New York Times was posted, January 10 of 2019, this being January 10 of 2020. I am hopeful that this new year we have, 2020, will bring about some clarity of vision on the part of my colleagues, the American people, and I don't know that I have as much hope for the press. But this day, a year ago today, I was misquoted by The New York Times. The Times alleged that I had used three terms and asked, why does that language become offensive? Well, the truth is that it was a 56-minute telephone interview, a call on my cell phone. I didn't have a way to tape it. But I have a practice over the years, I have done interviews with any kind of media I can think of, and if I don't have a means to tape what I say to them, I make it a point not to repeat anything, say anything that I haven't already said to the press. That way, there is nothing new out there for them to take and manipulate it in the article. {time} 1300 When that phone rang that morning on the 5th of January, 2019, if that is a Friday morning, about 8:35 in the morning, I took the call. I would have preferred to have done it in the office, but sometimes you need to get some work done and move on to other things, and that was part of the incentive.…
