Fox News Correspondent Tezlyn Figaro stopped by The Breakfast this morning and this is how it all went down:
Angela: how did you get involved in politics so early?
- half of everyone i know has served time from the war on drugs
- thereâs a disconnect from those organized in the street versus those who are organized in the grass
Charlamagne: hate when politicians get on platforms and start talking about rappers. being a black woman on fox do you get a lot of
Envy: how did fox news happen?
- iâm independent, we need more black people to act like peanut butter and jelly and spread, so we can get more bread
- looking at rappers, they need to come on board because they wonât wanna pay taxes, use their government name, etc.
Charlamagne: whatâs kappernick hazard pay?
- i didnât have all that money when i went against the government. my passion comes different
- when you stand up for something when you have nothing: then youâll get my respect
- if youâre not criticizing trump you donât get air time
Angela: whatâs it like for you behind the scenes at fox?
- steve hilton is from britain, he says race isnât an issue there, we went and talked about reparations. the next show was all about reparations.
- someone must go to the other side and talk. preaching to the choir is one thing, preaching to the other side is another
- we needed republicans to get the first act approved, i helped talk to get support
- thereâs nothing before or after my name (senator, dr. etc.) , yet iâm still heard at fox
Envy: do you think sanders should run?
- he was there to push the envelope, working on his campaign i saw he didnât understand race and class.
- i understand what heâs doing, he needs to reach out to the mid western right vote
Charlamagne: i feel like they were talking about race before bernie
- he talks about race and but he believes economics is an equalizer, itâs not. itâs a parallel.
- i beloved senator turner should run instead of sanders. she should run as an independent.
Charlamagne: i have problems with democrats when asked whatâs your agenda for the black community? they dance around it.
- democratâs are cowards, they only speak around the scene
- you gotta respect trump, heâs running things like death row. no ones shut down the government for our people.
- you gotta have external and internal pressures which is why iâm at Fox. politicians only respond to fear.
Angela: are there any candidates you like?
- i donât like anyone, i like how democratâs are being organized, i think itâs strategic.
- this is the âanybody butâ campaign, but thatâs not gonna happen once they get a taste of power
Envy: what do you think about cory booker?
- just him pushing to be another black man as president is good, they (democrats) need to distinguish one another though, canât all be progressive
Charlamagne: why do you people assume harris wonât lock up black and brown people?
- i think sheâs sending mixed messages
- C: how is it mixed? sheâs supposed to lock people up
- sheâs producing her as home girl from the hood, then being hard on crime
Charlamagne: i gravitated toward her because of the progressive things she pushed, yet people question her criminal justice background?
- progressive or moderate? is progressive all the way left? the majority of Americans are in the center, you canât say sheâs in the middle, but be a progressive.
Angela: what about people saying running for president as independent will split? itâll force republicans to win?
- why be afraid? must be because everyoneâs not as united as they say. itâs good for anyone wanting to run, itâs just people in to make the conversation challenging.
- gotta get out of the mentality: business is evil. we gotta separate wall street greed from small time business owners.
Charlamagne: why did the republicans get behind first step act? when you think about it, neither democrats or republicans care about mass incarceration.
- republicans are on board for smart reform. democrats didnât support it because they didnât want to be seen supporting something with trump. it wasnât about the incarcerated, but about their political agendas.
- republicans want the fiscal benefit, itâll cost them less money to have less people locked up.
Envy: do you think trump can win?
- i think heâll drop out. I wouldnât be surprised if he wins, how do you want racism: straight with no chaser? or with a blind fold?
- C. straight with no chaser
Angela: have you always wanted to be a lawyer?
- absolutely, my degree took me so long because iâm a single mother. i was never in a position to go to law school, i canât get a job anywhere because no one will hire me.
- no one wants to have the conversation on liberal media because no one wants to challenge those issues.
Charlamagne: people fail to realize, black people have their own issues. letâs stop being lumped as minorities.
- weâre the only one who are proud to get our asses whooped
- no one wants to talk about our men being in prison, so they label me as racist or anti immigration. but who is going to push the issues if not me?
Charlamagne: we always show up for other people, but no one shows up for us.
- thereâs a reason why black women werenât at the womenâs march. weâre the only ones saying letâs all come together. chinese donât need to be politicians because they have the power of the paper. we need to own it all. look at the Vietnamese in the hood.
Angela: you thought about running?
- i will never be that, i donât want to beg for anything
Charlamagne: what to do for 2020/ solutions for it?
- trump is the best and worst thing to have. people are now paying attention, but what will we do with this engagement? black people need to stop feeling bad for saying we want a black agenda.
- you can only control your space.
Charlamagne: how do you feel about celebrities being the poster child for issues?
- glad meek mill is using his platform, heâs speaking from experience. as long as you have experience and are honest, we good.