Jun 3, 2020 - Politics & Policy

GOP Rep. Will Hurd joins George Floyd protesters in Houston

Rep. Will Hurd at the Capitol in November 2019. Photo: Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) joined a protest against George Floyd's killing on Tuesday, after a week of similar demonstrations being held across the country.

Why it matters: Hurd, the only black GOP representative, is one of the only congressional Republicans to publicly join Floyd protesters and post about it online. He is not seeking re-election.

What he's saying: "What we are showing here in Houston is that you can be outraged by a black man getting murdered in police custody. We can be united for change in our society. And we can be thankful that law enforcement is enabling our First Amendment rights. And we can be pissed that some stupid people are looting and rioting, which goes against our American values," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Everything is not a binary choice. We can believe all these values and fell all these emotions at the same time," he added.

Go deeper: Elizabeth Warren joins George Floyd protesters outside White House

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Rashaan Ayesh

Jun 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Voters head to the polls for key primaries in Kentucky and New York

Brooklyn Museum polling site, June 23, New York City. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Primary elections initially delayed by the coronavirus are taking place on Tuesday in North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky and New York.

The big picture: Establishment-backed candidates have been pitted against progressive challengers in several of the Democratic congressional primaries being held Tuesday — including one race that could see the powerful chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee unseated after 16 terms in Congress.

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Axios

Jun 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Larry Kudlow: "I don't accept the view of systemic racism"

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow doesn't believe there is systemic racism in the United States, citing the election of former President Barack Obama.

"I don't accept the view of systemic racism. I think there is racism in pockets of this country, but I do not believe it is systemic," Kudlow told Jonathan Swan in an interview for "Axios on HBO."
"You have as evidence of that view, our first black president, just a few years back, won two terms, and I regarded that with pride as an American."

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Sara Fischer

Jun 23, 2020 - Economy & Business

Race's media moment

Photo Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Photo by David J. & Janice L. Frent/Corbis via Getty Images, NY Daily News via Getty Images, Bettmann / Contributor, Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, Star Tribune via Getty Images.

Across every type of media — music, television, books, podcasts and more — messages about fighting systemic racism and driving social change are topping the charts and dominating the country's attention span.

Why it matters: Just as the late 1960s propelled new soundtracks, movies and shows about social justice, media today will serve as a lasting record of this moment in America's history.