OTR: John Deaton explains why he’s running for the U.S. Senate for the first time
Last updated: May 26, 2024 3:12 PM EDT
I just want to remind everybody, you said you lived in Roxbury. You went to school in Massachusetts, grew up in Detroit, and lived in Rhode Island until recently. Now you’re in Massachusetts, why are you here? Why? Why Massachusetts? Why did you move here? Well, is there any reason other than to run for the Senate? No, no, I welcome the comparison of my Massachusetts qualifications with other candidates, especially Senator Warren. Do you know that in 1994 I was elected to represent the United States Marine Corps as a contract law clerk for all of Massachusetts? I beat out law students from Harvard, British Columbia, Boston, and Suffolk. And for 22 years I’ve been admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, representing working families, ironworkers, shipyard workers, plumbers, piping workers, auto mechanics, engineers, electricians. These are the people I’ve been talking to about important issues for Massachusetts for 20 years. A few months ago, I put my Rhode Island home up for sale. It’s still up for sale. Are you going to be a permanent resident of Massachusetts? Yes, I am. What do you mean? I live in Swansea and I’m currently looking for a house in Massachusetts, but my daughter, and my functionally equivalent step-daughter, are still in school. So I have to make the final move with my family. So, where do you live? I live in Swansea. You’re… Yes, I get it. So why are you in Massachusetts? I live in Woburn because I’m always there. Because you’re always there. Right? But. But why are you in Massachusetts? Just to run for senator? No. You know my question. No, I understand your question. But we were going to move anyway. But, like I said, I have deep ties. You haven’t represented working families across the state for 22 years. That’s the kind of connection you have, representing the Marines, for the state and the Marines. I have deep ties to the state. Okay. You’ve never held public office, and yet you chose U.S. Senator as the first office you’re running for. That’s bold. Why? Why would you do that? Most people might say, oh, why not run for your local city council. Let me tell you why. Because we have so many crises. Illegal immigration debt. 40% of Americans don’t have $500 saved for an emergency. A million lives lost to opioid addiction, foreign wars, inflation, crime and the decline of working families. But the biggest crisis is a crisis of leadership in Washington DC. Because elites like Elizabeth Warren have stoked division and kept us divided. We need a big office for your first term. Because I have the skills to do it. I’ll be honest with you, my skills are better than Elizabeth Warren’s. I don’t give her the benefit of the doubt. I think she had good intentions 12 years ago, but she is the epitome of what’s going on in Washington DC. Remember, she was going to hold the bankers accountable. She slammed the table on that. Now the bankers are writing her bill. That’s what people are tired of. That’s why I’m running for this. And that’s why I’m retiring. Senator Warren, the Senate picks Supreme Court justices. I want to ask you about the current flag controversy surrounding the Supreme Court. Justice Samuel Alito flew an upside-down American flag outside his home in Virginia in 2021. The New York Times reported that he flew an Appeal to Heaven flag outside his summer home in New Jersey last year. Of course, that flag was also seen at the January 6 riots at the Capitol. What is your take on this? My response is, the Supreme Court is the highest law in the land. And people need to have faith in their institutions, especially their institutions. So I hope that Justice Alito will do the same as me. I wouldn’t get in that situation, but he should recuse himself. Anything that’s connected to those activities, he doesn’t have to resign, because he doesn’t have to. He doesn’t have to resign. But listen. The law, the conflict of laws, demands that you not even have a suspicion of impropriety. So the best thing is to keep faith in this institution and not make it an issue. If I was in his shoes, that’s what I would do. Do you think the public has faith in this institution? I mean, they have life terms now.I think the public has lost confidence in all of our federal institutions, including the Supreme Court. We have to get independents together. The biggest difference, or one of the biggest differences, between me and Senator Warren is that I am loyal to Massachusetts and to America. That’s my test. Not to a party, not to a policy, not to a person. Thanks again to John Deaton. Your
The Republican candidate also answered questions about his move from Rhode Island to Massachusetts shortly before announcing his campaign.
The Republican candidate also answered questions about his move from Rhode Island to Massachusetts shortly before announcing his campaign.
