Friday at a National Security Action event, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said 2020 Democratic candidates must make it clear to voters that President Donald Trump was using “fear as a governing idea,” which she argued did not work.

Abrams said, “If you were told that you can’t have this job because an immigrant took this job you feel — and I’m not legitimizing any of the underlying racism, the -isms, the discrimination and bigotry— but without a counterpoint of here is the opportunity for you to have what you need. I think that is where we miss our chance sometimes. That is what I’m looking for in this crop of 2020 candidates. It’s our ability to say we all want the same things. We want healthcare. We want economic security. We want education. We want reforms that make our lives stronger and better, and this fear is not delivering that. We have now had three and a half years of fear as a governing idea, and it does not work. Therefore we have to have a vision that says that here is what will work.”

She added, “We have to call attention to the bigotry to the racism, the dehumanization that is embedded in the fear mongering of Donald Trump and his administration. But we then must also call to our better angels.”

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