Undecided Voter Interrupted By Trump Says She’ll Vote for Biden
Donald Trump took questions from ordinary residents of Philadelphia at an ABC News Town Hall on Tuesday night and created a viral moment when he attempted to interrupt Professor Ellesia Blaque as she questioned him about his position on healthcare. Blaque’s question specifically focused on his plans to protect those with pre-existing health conditions, so that they can afford their health care and remain insured. She described the struggles she has faced in paying for health care due to her inflammatory disease.
“Please stop and let me finish my question, sir,” Blaque said when Trump tried to jump in, becoming an instant Twitter darling.
Blaque, a Philadelphia resident who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted at all, as if one of her students had spoken during a lecture when she had not called on them. “From the day I was born, I was considered uninsurable,” she read from her prepared remarks while wearing a mask.
“I want to know what it is that you’re going to do assure that people like me who work hard, we do everything we’re supposed to do, can stay insured,” Blaque said. “It’s not my fault that I was born with this disease. It’s not my fault that I’m a Black woman and in the medical community, I’m minimized and not taken seriously.”
"You've been trying to strike down pre-existing conditions."
In a @ABC2020 town hall, @GStephanopoulos presses Pres. Trump on claim he's preserving pre-existing conditions—as his administration argues in court against Obamacare, which protects them. Watch the full exchange. pic.twitter.com/GuOyqUKhen
— ABC News (@ABC) September 16, 2020
Twitter was all about seeing a Black woman shut down a notorious racist.
Sis name is Ellesia Blaque! 🥰Sis 💜got a Bachelor Degree. A Master Degree. Oh, and a PHD. She's a Professor. She took him to class.#TrumpTownHall pic.twitter.com/nVjhMsElf7
— 🌊Hope (@fugeegirl) September 16, 2020
Ellesia Blaque wins the night.
She described her illness and how she's manages her health with the ACA. She showed her emotional fortitude and intellectual superiority over Trump and even better, she wouldn't let him interrupt her.#TrumpTownHall pic.twitter.com/uDBRoh9pMZ
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) September 16, 2020
#EllesiaBlaque #BlackGirlMagic and you are correct that forum was only for props and show but you have to #VoteBlue we need your vote @JoyAnnReid @thereidout #1votecounts Thank you for your courage! 💄Sheritha
— Sheritha McKenzie (@shebodies53) September 16, 2020
Appearing on MSNBC’s “The Reid Out“, Blaque told host Joy Reid she went to the Town Hall not because she was undecided between the two white male candidates, but because she wasn’t sure she was going to vote at all. Blaque, who has various degrees and has been teaching the lessons of slavery for decades, told Reid she had been struggling with the decision, but since she got no answer from Trump, she’ll be voting for Joe Biden in November and hoping for the best.
“We need drastic, drastic change. Blaque said. “You can’t continue to be abused by people in the street simply because of the color of our skin, where we live, where we from, how we speak. I don’t want to be gracious anymore. I want change, and I want it now.”