Home • Politics

10 Black Women Who Delivered Iconic Political Clapbacks In 2018

Some politicians got a little bit too out of pocket on occasions, but these Black women put them in their places.
10 Black Women Who Delivered Iconic Political Clapbacks In 2018
By Ashley Nkadi ·
2018 has been a year rife with political discourse — good, bad, and ugly. However, some politicians (and the so-called President, especially) got a little bit too out of pocket on occasions. Thankfully, these queens put them in their places. Here are 10 Black women who delivered iconic political clapbacks in 2018! 1. Maxine Waters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=325ANRygg_8 Rep. Maxine Waters has definitely earned the affectionate nickname “Auntie Maxine.” This year alone, the 27-year congresswoman and TIME 100 honoree has: told Trump that Oprah is richer than him; crowned Trump with the new nickname, “Con Man Don”; reminded us that Trump has been called “stupid, ignorant, uninformed, unhinged and a moron” by his own staff; and asked Trump to resign (again). Her best comeback, though, was to the death threats she received earlier this year: “If you shoot me you better shoot straight,” she said, “there’s nothing like a wounded animal.” What a legend. 2. Angela Rye If Rep. Maxine Waters is our Auntie, then Angela Rye is definitely our favorite cousin. Cousin Angela is THAT cousin. When asked to debate Kanye co-signer and red-pill abuser Candace Owens, the political analyst responded “who?” She told the racist tub of mayonnaise, Tammy Tanya Toenail Tomi Lahren, to “sit [her] five dollar ass down.” What takes the cake is her BET State of the Union, which served as an extended rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union. 3. Kamala Harris Not only did former prosecutor, former Attorney General, and current Senator Kamala Harris drag Brett Kavanaugh for filth in her line of questioning during his confirmation hearings, she also dragged 45. When Trump accused Harris of supporting the MS-13 gang, she shut him down with a simple reply: “As a career prosecutor, I actually went after gangs and transnational criminal organizations. That’s being a leader on public safety. What is not, is ripping babies from their mothers.” 4. Michelle Obama Our forever First Lady had just two words when asked about her feelings on the day of Trump’s inauguration: “Bye, Felicia!” Write those down Melania. You’re going to need them in 2020. 5. Frederica Wilson Rep. Frederica Wilson is not only known for her work as a Florida Congresswoman, but also for her spectacular hats. Last year, Wilson was thrown into political turmoil when Trump accused Wilson of misrepresenting what was said in a phone call between him and the family of fallen hero Sgt. La David Johnson. Sure, Jan. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly then took it upon himself to further attack Wilson, claiming that she lied about securing funding for an FBI building. As you can probably guess (and as video evidence confirmed), Kelly was lying like a rug. Though his comments brought death threats upon the Florida Representative, he refused to apologize. Karma came around this month, however, when Kelly was ousted from the Trump administration. Wilson’s response? “I don’t think that Mr. Kelly did a good job, and I think I want to say good riddance to him. Goodbye.” 6. Ilhan Omar She may not be the first to deliver an epic clapback, but Ilhan Omar is certainly the first of many other feats: The first Muslim woman elected to Congress (along with Rashida Tlaib), the first refugee elected to Congress, and the first woman of color to represent her state of Minnesota in Congress. Earlier this year, Omar responded to Trump’s horrific comments about African and Caribbean nations by declaring, “I am not ashamed of the country where I was born … But make no mistake, I am ashamed, disturbed, and outraged that the leader of the United States can’t see beyond his own embarrassing privilege to embrace the diversity that has made this country great for generations.” However, the Somali-American trailblazer’s greatest response this year was perhaps that to the House of Representatives’ rule banning headwear on the floor. “No one puts a scarf on my head but me,” she said. She continued, “It’s my choice—one protected by the first amendment. And this is not the last ban I’m going to work to lift.” 7. Stacey Abrams Most candidates give concession speeches when it becomes clear that their run did not end in success — but not Abrams. In ending her bid to become the next governor of the state of Georgia, the politician and lawyer emphatically stated, “let’s be clear — this is not a speech of concession, because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper,” she said. “As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that.” Stacey ended her campaign by launching a voting rights group called “Fair Fight Georgia,” to help ensure future fairness in the Georgia electoral process. 8. April D. Ryan In her free time, when she is not questioning what wig companies HUD officials work for, Ryan is producing the classiest retorts to Trump’s disparaging remarks about her. Specifically, after Trump referred to Ryan as a “loser,” she penned an op-ed for the Washington Post about Trump’s wanton disrespect toward Black women. 9. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Texas’ 18th Congressional District is not the only thing Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is serving! She also served this reply to the Trump administration’s separation of immigrant families: “President Trump, cease and desist, because you are moving the arc of justice to the heap of despair and the trash heap of injustice.” 10. Mari Copeny Last, but not least, Little Miss Flint had a message for Tomi Lahren, who believes that $5 billion taxpayer dollars should go towards building a racist and xenophobic wall. The small, but mighty Queen tweeted “$5 billion for water infrastructure upgrades and testing in schools seems like a much better way to spend that much money…but what do I know…I’m just a kid from Flint who was forced to learn all things water after the government poisoned us.”
TOPICS: