Below, please find the full audio and transcript for 2017 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie’s radio interview with Jimmy Barrett this morning:
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE:
BARRETT: Joining us to talk about it is Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie. Let’s start with the usual issue of who to blame for what happened. I think the President started by trying to blame both sides. I think there is plenty of blame for both sides, both the alt-right and the far left are to blame for the violence that happened in Charlottesville, but he didn’t mention the Klan or neo-Nazis or white supremacists by name and that seemed to get him into some trouble. Do you have any problem mentioning them by name?
ED GILLESPIE: No, not at all. In fact, the KKK, and the neo-Nazis, and the white supremacists who came and descended on Charlottesville – and I saw a stat yesterday, Jimmy, and I’m trying to confirm it but it seemed to be from a legitimate source, that 90 percent of those folks who were in Charlottesville for this Unite the Right rally – and let’s get back to the fact that they are not the right eventually, but let me just stay on this topic for a second – were not from, they weren’t Virginians, and they descended on Charlottesville. It seems to me, when you look at some of the imagery, that many of them were intent on inciting violence. And I think inciting violence is obviously a lot more serious crime than engaging in violence, but people engaged in violence. That’s true that people engaged in violence on both sides. There were people – I saw a report yesterday of some of the hard left assailing of a photojournalist in Richmond, but the fact is, we have to be clear, there is not moral equivalency between people who come with the intent of organizing a rally that espouses white supremacism and that other races or religions are inferior, there is not a moral equivalency there to those that show up to condemn them for espousing that kind of hate filled speech, and then when, obviously, speech turns to action, into violence. That’s not the ACLU’s fault and I don’t agree with the Governor there.
BARRETT: Well and speaking of the Governor, if you become governor we’re likely to see these types of incidents occur in the future. As long as there is a monument avenue, as long as there are places where there are confederate statues and monuments, which are likely to remain I hope here in Virginia because I don’t believe in whitewashing history or trying to make history go away –
ED GILLESPIE: Well I saw that Mayor Stoney has said that he believes that the statues should not be removed, that there needs to be context, and he’s engaged in a thoughtful process and discussion there in the city of Richmond about the statues, not taking them down, and I think that is a thoughtful approach.
BARRETT: Although we are finding out as this continues to go on, I agree with you I think it is a thoughtful approach, but as this continues to go on we find that those that are on the alt-right again are not happy about that, they don’t want them altered in any way, people on the far left want them torn down, they don’t want – they aren’t interested in context, so this is going to continue to be an issue here in the commonwealth. What do we need to do do you believe, Ed Gillespie, going forward?
ED GILLESPIE: Well I think these conservations are taking place at the – in particular at the city and the county level. In my view that’s where they belong. I don’t believe the statues should come down. I agree with Mayor Stoney. I agree with Governor McAuliffe, that’s his view as well. I do think it’s important that we distinguish these folks who came into the Commonwealth wearing Nazi swastikas and engaged in, like I say, this white supremacism and Neo-Nazisim.They may call it the Unite the Right rally, but they’re not on a part of a legitimate political spectrum of left to right. It’s not like on a liberal to conservative scale of 1 to 10, they’re somewhere on there. They’re not. On a liberal to conservative spectrum of 1 to 10 they are a yellow. They are something completely different. They are not a point on the same continuum. They don’t have a political philosophy that’s rooted in competing economic theories or differing views of fundamental rights of freedom. They reflect this twisted mindset that’s rooted in hating and oppressing certain others. So I do think it’s important to make that distinction because I know – conservatism that I know and conservatives I know believe we’re all created in the image and likeness of God and all created equal, and that our Constitution enshrines rights that are given to us by God and through a representative form of government. That’s what guides us.
BARRETT: We’re talking to Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie. While I have you, Ed here quickly, how’s the campaign going? I can’t believe that we’re within almost three months of the election.
ED GILLESPIE: It’s going great. Everywhere I go,of course you know the past few days with the complications and addressing the concerns that arose out of the violence in Charlottesville has been a focus, but I have been putting forward plans to get our economy moving again and putting forward policies to address rising gang violence. I saw there was another incident concerning MS-13 in Northern Virginia. I did a ride-along with the Northern Virginia gang task force that is an eminent concern to me – rising gang violence in the Commonwealth. The need for economic growth, I put forward a plan on that. People are responding to those plans, Jimmy. They are looking for solutions and ideas and policies that will benefit all Virginians, and my policies will do that, and I feel momentum everywhere I go.
BARRETT: Ok, Ed. Always good to talk with you. Thank you. We’ll talk again. That is Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie.
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