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CNN Saturday Morning News
Senator Trent Lott Will Not Step Down
Aired December 14, 2002 - 09:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Senate Republican leader Trent Lott says he will not step aside as incoming majority leader simply because critics have seized on poorly chosen words. Lott returned home to Mississippi to issue an apology for statements he concedes were racially insensitive.
We have two reporters posted on this developing story. CNN's Kathleen Koch is on Capitol Hill, and national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Senator Lott's home town of Pascagoula, Mississippi.
And we are going to begin with Gary. Good morning, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Arthelle, good morning to you.
And we come to you from a lunch counter in Senator Lott's home town of Pascagoula. This is a place where the senator himself sometimes comes for breakfast or for lunch. It's an old-fashioned place. Looks like it comes right out of the 1950s. And this is Trent Lott territory. You will not find people here who do not like the senator, or it would be hard to find those kinds of people.
With me are Sherry (ph) and Dickie (ph), two guys who come here regularly, sit here at the counter, have the coffee.
How's the food here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
TUCHMAN: Let me tell you, we were talking earlier about the speech yesterday, the news conference. Everyone in this room saw it. What did you think of it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it sounded good. I don't believe he's a racist. He might be, but I don't believe he is.
TUCHMAN: He might be, what do you mean by that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been knowing -- well, I've been knowing him all my life, and I ain't never known him to do nothing, say nothing bad about them or nothing else.
TUCHMAN: Now, let me ask you this, do you think he could have been a little more sensitive, perhaps, in some of the comments he made last weekend and the past?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't know. I don't understand all of that stuff. I mean...
TUCHMAN: Sensitivity?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been around blacks all my life. And I know I'm not racist. I mean, I have some good friends that's black.
TUCHMAN: OK, well, I'm glad to hear that, sir.
Let me ask Sherry the same question. Sherry, did you see the news conference yesterday? What did you think about what he had to say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he handled it very nice. And I think he has done apologized too much.
TUCHMAN: Why do you think he apologized too much? What's wrong with that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it just keeps running and running and running, you know?
TUCHMAN: But, you know, a lot of people are upset about that. And they're not making it up, they feel bad. Do you think perhaps he could be a little more careful with his language, a little more sensitive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would think he could choose his words a little bitter, yes. I go by his house every morning, and this is the first morning I saw part of his fence tore down on the beach.
TUCHMAN: Why do you think that is? Well, we don't know why -- we don't...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think someone needs tickets.
TUCHMAN: Well, we don't know what happened there, so we won't make any suppositions.
But gentlemen, thank you, thank you for talking with us.
We were talking about how many times he's apologized, and that's what happened at his news conference yesterday, he apologized...
(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 14, 2002 - 09:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Senate Republican leader Trent Lott says he will not step aside as incoming majority leader simply because critics have seized on poorly chosen words. Lott returned home to Mississippi to issue an apology for statements he concedes were racially insensitive.
We have two reporters posted on this developing story. CNN's Kathleen Koch is on Capitol Hill, and national correspondent Gary Tuchman is in Senator Lott's home town of Pascagoula, Mississippi.
And we are going to begin with Gary. Good morning, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Arthelle, good morning to you.
And we come to you from a lunch counter in Senator Lott's home town of Pascagoula. This is a place where the senator himself sometimes comes for breakfast or for lunch. It's an old-fashioned place. Looks like it comes right out of the 1950s. And this is Trent Lott territory. You will not find people here who do not like the senator, or it would be hard to find those kinds of people.
With me are Sherry (ph) and Dickie (ph), two guys who come here regularly, sit here at the counter, have the coffee.
How's the food here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
TUCHMAN: Let me tell you, we were talking earlier about the speech yesterday, the news conference. Everyone in this room saw it. What did you think of it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it sounded good. I don't believe he's a racist. He might be, but I don't believe he is.
TUCHMAN: He might be, what do you mean by that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been knowing -- well, I've been knowing him all my life, and I ain't never known him to do nothing, say nothing bad about them or nothing else.
TUCHMAN: Now, let me ask you this, do you think he could have been a little more sensitive, perhaps, in some of the comments he made last weekend and the past?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't know. I don't understand all of that stuff. I mean...
TUCHMAN: Sensitivity?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been around blacks all my life. And I know I'm not racist. I mean, I have some good friends that's black.
TUCHMAN: OK, well, I'm glad to hear that, sir.
Let me ask Sherry the same question. Sherry, did you see the news conference yesterday? What did you think about what he had to say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he handled it very nice. And I think he has done apologized too much.
TUCHMAN: Why do you think he apologized too much? What's wrong with that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it just keeps running and running and running, you know?
TUCHMAN: But, you know, a lot of people are upset about that. And they're not making it up, they feel bad. Do you think perhaps he could be a little more careful with his language, a little more sensitive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would think he could choose his words a little bitter, yes. I go by his house every morning, and this is the first morning I saw part of his fence tore down on the beach.
TUCHMAN: Why do you think that is? Well, we don't know why -- we don't...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think someone needs tickets.
TUCHMAN: Well, we don't know what happened there, so we won't make any suppositions.
But gentlemen, thank you, thank you for talking with us.
We were talking about how many times he's apologized, and that's what happened at his news conference yesterday, he apologized...
(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
