Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and his Democratic primary challenger, George Latimer, had a contentious back and forth during a televised debate in White Plains on Monday that featured several heated moments.
“You see why he’s an ineffective congressman?” said Latimer, the Westchester county executive.
“Why? Because I raise my voice? The people here understand passion,” Bowman responded. “You want to go to Washington and play nice with Marjorie Taylor Greene?”
“You vote with her, so why shouldn’t you play nice with her?” Latimer said. “When you work in a legislative body, you need to form coalitions with people. You need to have their respect. You need to talk to them as normal people. You can’t preach and scream at them on the steps of the Capitol.”
“The angry Black man! The angry Black man!” Bowman exclaimed as the moderator tried to intervene. “It’s the Southern strategy in the North. And they expect us to be quiet about it. We're not going to be quiet about it.”
Bowman has been under heat for months, particularly since he pulled a fire alarm in a House office building during a vote last year.