Fox News Correspondent Tezlyn Figaro stopped by The Breakfast this morning and this is how it all went down:
Angela: how did you get involved in politics so early?
- half of everyone i know has served time from the war on drugs
- there’s a disconnect from those organized in the street versus those who are organized in the grass
Charlamagne: hate when politicians get on platforms and start talking about rappers. being a black woman on fox do you get a lot of
Envy: how did fox news happen?
- i’m independent, we need more black people to act like peanut butter and jelly and spread, so we can get more bread
- looking at rappers, they need to come on board because they won’t wanna pay taxes, use their government name, etc.
Charlamagne: what’s kappernick hazard pay?
- i didn’t have all that money when i went against the government. my passion comes different
- when you stand up for something when you have nothing: then you’ll get my respect
- if you’re not criticizing trump you don’t get air time
Angela: what’s it like for you behind the scenes at fox?
- steve hilton is from britain, he says race isn’t an issue there, we went and talked about reparations. the next show was all about reparations.
- someone must go to the other side and talk. preaching to the choir is one thing, preaching to the other side is another
- we needed republicans to get the first act approved, i helped talk to get support
- there’s nothing before or after my name (senator, dr. etc.) , yet i’m still heard at fox
Envy: do you think sanders should run?
- he was there to push the envelope, working on his campaign i saw he didn’t understand race and class.
- i understand what he’s doing, he needs to reach out to the mid western right vote
Charlamagne: i feel like they were talking about race before bernie
- he talks about race and but he believes economics is an equalizer, it’s not. it’s a parallel.
- i beloved senator turner should run instead of sanders. she should run as an independent.
Charlamagne: i have problems with democrats when asked what’s your agenda for the black community? they dance around it.
- democrat’s are cowards, they only speak around the scene
- you gotta respect trump, he’s running things like death row. no ones shut down the government for our people.
- you gotta have external and internal pressures which is why i’m at Fox. politicians only respond to fear.
Angela: are there any candidates you like?
- i don’t like anyone, i like how democrat’s are being organized, i think it’s strategic.
- this is the “anybody but” campaign, but that’s not gonna happen once they get a taste of power
Envy: what do you think about cory booker?
- just him pushing to be another black man as president is good, they (democrats) need to distinguish one another though, can’t all be progressive
Charlamagne: why do you people assume harris won’t lock up black and brown people?
- i think she’s sending mixed messages
- C: how is it mixed? she’s supposed to lock people up
- she’s producing her as home girl from the hood, then being hard on crime
Charlamagne: i gravitated toward her because of the progressive things she pushed, yet people question her criminal justice background?
- progressive or moderate? is progressive all the way left? the majority of Americans are in the center, you can’t say she’s in the middle, but be a progressive.
Angela: what about people saying running for president as independent will split? it’ll force republicans to win?
- why be afraid? must be because everyone’s not as united as they say. it’s good for anyone wanting to run, it’s just people in to make the conversation challenging.
- gotta get out of the mentality: business is evil. we gotta separate wall street greed from small time business owners.
Charlamagne: why did the republicans get behind first step act? when you think about it, neither democrats or republicans care about mass incarceration.
- republicans are on board for smart reform. democrats didn’t support it because they didn’t want to be seen supporting something with trump. it wasn’t about the incarcerated, but about their political agendas.
- republicans want the fiscal benefit, it’ll cost them less money to have less people locked up.
Envy: do you think trump can win?
- i think he’ll drop out. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins, how do you want racism: straight with no chaser? or with a blind fold?
- C. straight with no chaser
Angela: have you always wanted to be a lawyer?
- absolutely, my degree took me so long because i’m a single mother. i was never in a position to go to law school, i can’t get a job anywhere because no one will hire me.
- no one wants to have the conversation on liberal media because no one wants to challenge those issues.
Charlamagne: people fail to realize, black people have their own issues. let’s stop being lumped as minorities.
- we’re the only one who are proud to get our asses whooped
- no one wants to talk about our men being in prison, so they label me as racist or anti immigration. but who is going to push the issues if not me?
Charlamagne: we always show up for other people, but no one shows up for us.
- there’s a reason why black women weren’t at the women’s march. we’re the only ones saying let’s all come together. chinese don’t need to be politicians because they have the power of the paper. we need to own it all. look at the Vietnamese in the hood.
Angela: you thought about running?
- i will never be that, i don’t want to beg for anything
Charlamagne: what to do for 2020/ solutions for it?
- trump is the best and worst thing to have. people are now paying attention, but what will we do with this engagement? black people need to stop feeling bad for saying we want a black agenda.
- you can only control your space.
Charlamagne: how do you feel about celebrities being the poster child for issues?
- glad meek mill is using his platform, he’s speaking from experience. as long as you have experience and are honest, we good.