Kerry Washington recently opened up about her views on Donald Trump and how he remains eligible to run for president.
In an interview with Bustle before the launch of UnPrisoned season two on July 17, Kerry Washington also discussed how perceptions of felons may have shifted following Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
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“Everything has changed in terms of how I feel about the so-called justice system,” she told the outlet. “We’re in such an interesting moment when it comes to [the question of], ‘What is a felon?’ I love what people have been sharing on social media, [saying that] if a person who is a convicted felon can still run for president, then we should be removing that box from job applications.”
The actress and producer also highlighted the inconsistency of allowing a felon to run for president while denying them the right to vote.
“That’s huge. Huge. The irony is that [Gov.] Ron DeSantis has been trying to make it impossible in Trump’s home state,” she continued. “A bill was passed in Florida to allow formerly incarcerated folks to vote, and DeSantis has been trying to do everything he can to [undercut] that. Donald Trump may not be able to vote in his home state.
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She discussed how being labeled as a felon can lead to unfair assumptions about a person’s identity and abilities, similar to how gender or race stereotypes operate. She also reflected on her groundbreaking role in Scandal, where she became one of the first Black women to be welcomed into many viewers’ homes for an extended period of time.
“She was a real human being, beyond the label of ‘Black woman.’ [She had] complexity, nuance, flaws, brilliance. She was aspirational and also such a mess,” Washington said, adding, “Now we’re allowing for that kind of social, psychological deepening with felons and returning citizens, too.”
