Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif. 43rd District) on Tuesday joined Cheddar to express her support for the protest movement rocking the nation and to officially endorse Joe Biden for president after saying last week that she wasn't sure if he had what it takes to beat President Donald Trump.
The congresswoman said she expects the protests and confrontations to continue until substantive changes are made to the criminal justice system, but those changes are not likely to come from Congress in its current form.
"I don't have any hopes that anything is going to happen in Congress anytime soon to change it," Waters said.
Calls for further investigations into the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin have fallen on deaf ears, she said, even after years of political leaders asking a deeply frustrated black population to be patient until reforms are made.
"Enough is enough, they're saying," she said. "They're not waiting on the justice system to change. They're not waiting for the correct jury selection. They're not waiting on the judges who simply side with the police no matter what the evidence is."
Waters also drew a connection between the protests and the economic devastation brought on by the coronavirus shutdown, calling this a "particularly dangerous time for America."
"It's tough right now," the Democratic congresswoman said. "Not only are people upset with the criminal justice system and the fact that this just happens far too often and to black people in particular, people are out of work right now. One in four people are unemployed."
She said this is an opportunity to not only address the criminal justice system but make a broader push to "empower all people to have a decent quality of life."
The representative said the current situation has also intensified the case for Biden, who she also believes will select a black woman for vice president.
"This is going to help people to understand that Biden is a must," she said. "They've got to change the presidency of the United States. We cannot take four more years of Trump."
