On the third day of the Democratic National Convention, he appeared on stage as a speaker.
An introduction to the trash cleanup anecdote after the 2021 Capitol riots
“Remember this chaos… We long for a new leader”
Andy Kim (42, New Jersey), the first Korean-American to run for the U.S. Senate, went on stage at the Democratic National Convention on the 21st (local time) and gave a speech in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.
At around 7:45 PM on this day, Rep. Kim appeared on stage as a speaker at the third day of the Democratic National Convention held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
He began his speech by criticizing the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, which involved Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump.
“When I was a little kid, my parents took me to the Capitol. They taught me that it was sacred ground, a symbol of democracy,” Rep. Kim said.
He continued, “When I entered Congress, I was happy to think that I could take my young sons to the same place. I asked them, ‘Do you like Congress?’ My oldest son, Austin, said, ‘I like Congress, and I like the small letters.’” The English word for Congress, ‘Capitol,’ is pronounced the same as the capital letter, ‘capital.’
“But soon after, we witnessed the unthinkable: rioters ripping up flags and assaulting police officers,” Rep. Kim said. “I walked into the Rotunda that night and the floor was covered in broken glass and trash, a mess caused by the chaos that Donald Trump caused.”
“I thought, ‘How could something so bad happen?’ So I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a garbage bag and started cleaning up.”
“What I learned on January 6th is that we are all defenders of this great republic. We can only heal this country if we do it together,” Rep. Kim said. “Many people are doing their part with their voices and their votes.”
He also said, “Let’s always remember the chaos we are seeing. It shouldn’t be like this. As a father, I don’t believe my children are destined to grow up in a broken America.”
He concluded his remarks by saying, “There is a hunger in this country right now for a new generation of leaders to emerge,” and “Let’s elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Let’s do it for our children and grandchildren.”
As Rep. Kim left the podium after speaking for about two minutes, convention attendees responded with applause.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Rep. Kim’s speech that day was “the culmination of a surprising move for Andy Kim, who had never attended a convention and, by his own estimate, had never spoken in front of more than 1,000 people.”
Congressman Kim is a second-generation immigrant born to Korean immigrant parents. He studied political science at the University of Chicago and international relations as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England.
He is a three-term congressman who entered the House of Representatives in 2018. This year, after Senator Bob Menendez was indicted on bribery charges, he ran for the Senate election and won the party primary, aiming to enter the Senate.
If Rep. Kim wins the Senate election, he will become the first Korean-American senator in U.S. history.
This is not the first time a Korean-American has spoken at the Democratic National Convention. Four years ago, Korean-American Georgia State Representative Sam Park spoke at the convention.
[워싱턴=뉴시스]
2024-08-23 09:38:19