Actress and conservative pundit Stacey Dash’s congressional campaign got off to a rocky start Thursday during her first televised interview as a candidate.
Dash stopped by Ari Melber’s MSNBC show, The Beat, to discuss why she wants to head to Washington and how she plans to win an election as a Republican in a district that is overwhelmingly Democratic (and supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election).
“The Democratic Party is not the only party that can represent them,” Dash told Melber. “I’m going to be a catalyst for change. I’m going to make sure that everyone in my district is given the opportunity to achieve their God given right, the American Dream.”
When Melber asked Dash about her stance on Dreamers and whether or not she agreed with Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent announcement that the Justice Department is suing the state of California over its immigration policy, she kept her answers short.
“I think that we have to respect law enforcement, we have to respect laws,” she said. Melber asked Dash to elaborate, but the actress said she didn’t have any more to say on the complicated topic. “That’s it,” she added.
Dash is running to represent California’s 44th Congressional district, which covers several neighborhoods and cities, including Watts, Carson, Compton, Wilmington, San Pedro, and parts of Long Beach. Comprised of more than 700,000 people, the district is primarily Latino (70 percent) and Democratic, and is one of the most diverse in the state.
She will be up against Democratic incumbent Nanette Diaz Barragán and popular Compton Mayor Aja Brown.
Throughout the interview, Dash sounded stilted and forced, explaining that she supports the Bill of Rights when it comes to her policy on gun control and that “family is the key” to stopping mass shootings. Dash also argued that the Affordable Care Act should be fully repealed, but did not offer a solution for those who would lose their health coverage if that occurred.
During the interview Melber also questioned Dash about Donald Trump’s seeming soft spot for white supremacists and asked her to share her thoughts on his “good people on both sides” comments following the deadly Charlottesville protest that left one woman dead.
Dash, an ardent Trump supporter, agreed with the president.