Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday responded to a question about his great-great grandfathers owning slaves, and if that would change his mind on reparations.
When asked if he would change his stance on reparations, McConnell responded to the question on Capitol Hill, saying, “I find myself in the same position as President Obama. We both oppose reparations and we both are the descendants of slave owners.”
This comes as NBC News published an article which said McConnell’s great-great-grandfathers owned 14 slaves and his mentioned his stance on reparations.
WATCH:
Sen. Mitch McConnell on the NBC report that his great-great grandfathers owned slaves:
“You know, I find myself in the same position as president Obama. We both oppose reparations and we both are the descendants of slave owners.”
— Ashe Schow (@AsheSchow) July 9, 2019
This comes as McConnell said reparations for descendants of slaves are not a good idea in a press conference on June 18.(RELATED: Mitch McConnell Pans Democratic Talk Of Slave Reparations)
“I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea,” he said, when asked about the subject by a reporter. “We’ve tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We elected an African-American president.”