Short version of audio interview
In this 2010 interview, Irish President Michael D. Higgins – then labor party leader – takes Megyn Kelly to task for attempting to spread Tea Party lies. President Higgins says, “(Your) tactic is to get a large crowd, whip them up, try and discover what is the greatest fear, work on that, and feed it right back in a frenzy.” He speaks of living and working in the United States in the 1970s in “Willie Nelson country,” and being astonished to discover that many decent, hard working Americans, the type of people, “…who are very proud, as they should be, of the man (Obama) they’ve elected president…” and continues
And that leads you in time then – to when you have in fact maybe one of the most gifted Presidents elected. I happen to not agree with all of his foreign policy… but you know, you regard, for example, someone who happens to have been a professor at Harvard – as somehow now, very handicapped. You don’t find anything wrong at all with this Tea Party ignorance that is being brought all around the United States, which is regularly insulting people who have been democratically elected.
Long version here
Higgins adds,
I’ve spoken of my time in the Midwest. I’m going to the Greyhound bus station and hearing for the first time “poor white trash.” These (decent American) people, who – you know – I was there before the Civil Rights charter came in and frankly the idea that a person would not have one job, but could have two jobs, or three jobs and work all the light hours that there are and still not be entitled to the basic protection of fundamental healthcare is outrageous.
So, whether you agree with Obama on what he is doing and aspects of his foreign policy… But, one of the things I do agree with: the idea of there being a social floor below which people cannot fall. That’s the future. I think even the poorest people in the great country that is the United States should be entitled to basic health care… and I don’t think they’ll thank the Sarah Palin lookalikes and followers for taking it off them.
Full (written) transcript of interview lybio.net