LOWELL, MA
Q: I know your family has been affected more by gun violence than most others in this country; I was wondering how that experience might affect your view on the gun control issue.
A: Far too many families know the pain and loss that comes with gun violence and yet Congress’s refusal to deliver on what so many Americans know to be the right policy has been one of the deepest frustrations of my time in Congress. Much of the discussion is around an assault weapons ban and high-capacity magazines and straw purchasers and gun show loophole and all of those are all important, obviously. What I think often gets lost in that discussion is the impact of trauma for communities that are experiencing gun violence on a daily basis—not just the mass shootings but night after night, day after day. The loss that comes with losing somebody to violent crime and the hole that is created for those families and those communities that can never be fully filled and I think for me it means it has been long enough. It’s time to deliver and it’s time for change because the status quo here ain’t working.
You disaffiliated quite publicly last year from your fraternity. I have two questions for you: when did you find out about the ties to the Confederacy and how much money did you donate, if any, over the years?
Donate money?
Like to the organization in general.
None. There might have been—I’m sure there was rent to live in the house or whatnot but I’m not aware of any…
Staffer: You mean outside of actually going there…
Yeah, just like no charitable donations…
No no no. With regards to when I found out about the ties, there wasn’t a specific… there’s no specific date that I recall in terms of where I was made aware of the connections. I joined without knowing and I should’ve, that responsibility’s on me. The fraternity itself, the chapter at Stanford had basically no affiliation with the national organization. My roommate at that fraternity was a Black man and it was a very diverse place, racially, ethnically, et cetera. What sparked my decision to disaffiliate there was an incident from…
The Emmitt Till memorial.
Yes, exactly. The incident with regards to the Emmitt Till memorial and I realized at that point that—that affiliation had gone too much and it was brought to my attention at some point as well that the organization was using my name as a listed prominent alumni which I didn’t know and it was obvious that my participation there was being used to give credibility to an organization that I did not believe in so I disaffiliated.
What on the campaign trail has surprised you most about the state and constituents in general?
About the…
Like what’s something interesting that you might have learned on the campaign trail about this state that you didn’t know before?
Oh, great question. Look, one of the great privileges of running a campaign is you get to get out and about and you get to experience the state, get to meet a whole lot of people and ask them questions and learn about their lives. And its been a very challenging environment to do that because of COVID-19 and the pandemic and just the amount of trauma and loss that I think so many have felt because of the virus but also because of these moments of racial justice. And so you learn an awful lot of individual stories and individual acts of generosity and grace but also the fight that people have in them to actually get through this moment and to want to change and want to see a society where we don’t have to go through challenges like this again. You learn about the resilience in communities like Lowell and Lawrence and Springfield and Pittsfield that have gone through some challenging times but will always find a way to rebuild and that’s inspiring—that’s what keeps you going through it.
I know you’re a young guy. What’s your favorite video game?
[Laughs]. You’re a good man. I, sadly—its been a while since I played video games but I will show my age here. The last one I played with any sort of addiction was probably a version of ‘Madden.’ That was a while ago.
Staffer: I thought it was going to be older to be honest.
Yeah, I was about 45 when I was 17, sadly enough.
Rhode Island went viral this week during the convention with their state appetizer of calamari.
Calamari, how ‘bout that?
Twitter’s wondering: what do you think Massachusetts’ state appetizer should be?
Massachusetts’ state appetizer… I would think that… that’s a good question. Massachusetts’ state sidedish is—I think is baked beans, Boston baked beans—Massachusetts’ state appetizer, I would take up sliced Boston cream doughnuts up into bite-sized pieces and put a toothpick in them and make that an appetizer.
Who has better Spanish, you or Beto O’Rourke?
Oh, man. [Laughter] You’re cutting me deep on that one. I’m gonna leave that to the native Spanish speakers.
This transcript has been edited slightly for brevity and clarity.
