Senator David Perdue appeared to take, then quickly return a phone from a student who confronted and recorded him Saturday on the campus of Georgia Tech.
“Today @sendavidperdue visited Tech to campaign for Kemp,” tweeted the account for the Georgia Tech wing of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. “A student tried asking a simple question about @BrianKempGA’s racist scheme to threaten voter registrations from black people, but before he could even finish the question, Perdue stole his phone.”
Today @sendavidperdue visited Tech to campaign for Kemp. A student tried asking a simple question about @BrianKempGA ‘s racist scheme to threaten voter registrations from black people, but before he could even finish the question, Perdue stole his phone. pic.twitter.com/K0iffU57Di
— YDSA Georgia Tech (@YDSAGT) October 13, 2018
“How can you endorse a candidate that …” the unnamed YDSA student asked Perdue, referring to the senator’s gubernatorial endorsement of Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Kemp has been criticized by left-wing groups for using the controversial “exact match” voting system in the state, which requires voter registrations to match drivers license and social security information and that some feel disproportionately affects minority voters.
Even though Kemp has stated that the “53,000 Georgians” in question will be allowed to vote in the upcoming election, civil rights groups are still suing the state, according to CNN, and leftist groups have used the issue to try and fire up their base. (RELATED: Georgia GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Misleadingly Accused Of Racist Voter Suppression … Again)
“It is a complete waste of our time and taxpayer dollars,” said Kemp press secretary Candice Broce in a statement. “The 53,000 Georgians cited in their complaint can vote in the November 6th election. Any claims to the contrary are politically motivated and utterly false.”
“No, I’m not doing that,” Perdue responded in the video. “I’m not doing that.” Perdue appeared to then take the phone from the student.
“You stole my property,” said the student. “You stole my property. Give me my phone back, senator.”
“Alright, you wanted a picture?” Perdue replied. “You wanted a picture? I’m gonna give it to you. You wanted a picture?”
The Georgia senator quickly gave the phone back to the student, who thanked him and said:
“That’s U.S. Senator David Perdue. U.S. Senator David Perdue just snatched my phone because he won’t answer a question from one of his constituents. He’s trying to leave. He’s trying to leave because he won’t answer why he’s endorsing a candidate who’s trying to purge people from voting on the basis of their race.”
The YDSA branch in a Twitter statement accused the senator of “stealing” the student’s phone and “dismissing dissent.”
It’s abhorrent that when our members ask their senators about the purging of voters within their state, they respond by stealing their phones, dismissing dissent, and ultimately prove that curbing of democracy is how they make capital stay in power https://t.co/pCoRFAFAdh
— YDSA (@YDSA_) October 13, 2018
A Perdue spokeswoman told The Daily Caller on Sunday that the Georgia senator typically takes a lot of “selfies” with constituents, particularly on casual trips like the one he was making on the Georgia Tech campus. What was left out of the posted video included the student asking Perdue to take a picture with him, which was why Perdue had the camera in the first place, according to the spokeswoman.