December 5, 2002 - U.S. Senate Leader Resigns - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

U.S. Senate majority leader makes racist comments, leading to resignation. At a time when Republicans controlled the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it seemed that Senate majority leader Trent Lott was as close to the top of his game as most people could get. However, on December 5, 2002, while celebrating the 100th birthday of his fellow-Senator Strom Thurmond, Lott made comments that would force him to resign. Thurmond had run for president in 1948 on a segregationist ticket – indicating his desire to keep blacks and whites separate and certainly not equal. At the birthday party, Lott boasted that his state, Mississippi, had voted for Lott back in ’48. “We’re proud of it, and if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over the years,” he said, clearly referring to problems that arose from integration. While it was not the first time Lott had made racist comments, this time the outrage came fast and furiously – and it stuck. For two weeks, Lott went on every television and radio show that would have him, apologizing and trying to explain. However, even President George W. Bush had harsh words for the senator, and his colleagues were not willing to back him this time. On December 20, 2002, Lott announced he was stepping down from the majority leader’s chair, although he stayed on as senator.

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