Rep. Allen West Defends 'Get the Hell Out' Comments to Democrats
Rep. Allen West has defended his comments towards Democrats at a GOP event, telling them to "get the hell out" of the country.
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) claims his comments were an attempt to talk about a contrast of visions with that of the White House. He clarified that the message of the Democrats is what needs to leave the country, according to Fox News.
"If you go back and read the transcript of the message that I gave, it was about equality of achievement, about economic dependency, it was about enslaving the American entrepreneur well in spirit," West said. "That message needs to leave this country."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
On Saturday, Allen West told the Palm Beach County GOP that President Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Minority Leader; former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) should get the hell out of the country. The comments earned criticism from "The Five" host, Bob Beckel.
Beckel said that Allen West owes an apology to a lot of people, according to Fox News.
"In my 30 years of politics, I've never heard anything more disgraceful," Beckel said on an episode of "The Five."
West responded by saying that it is Beckel who owes him an apology.
"I think Bob Beckel owes me an apology for saying that he would not refer to me as a Congressional representative nor as a Lieutenant Colonel Retired," West said.
West was also forced to defend his comments on the CNN program "Starting Point" hosted by Soledad O'Brien. When O'Brien asked West what he meant by the comments, he referred to the contrast of quality to opportunity.
He said he wanted the quality of opportunity that helped him to rise from his inner city neighborhood to represent the highest income zip code in the nation.
"That's the America that I love, that's the America that's dear to me," West said.
Allan West also told Republicans in West Palm Beach County, Fla., Saturday, that Democrats should take their message to the bottom of the sea, the North Pole or Europe, according to The Huffington Post.
The former spokesman of Sen. Reid, Jim Manley, responded to West on Twitter after the comments found their way onto social media.
"Me to Allen West. You first a------," Manley said.
