Quotes from Mike Espy

During the 1990s, I served in the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the nation's 25th secretary of agriculture.

We have made changes at the USDA in our personnel and in the attitude that we would like to instill in our personnel. Some don't want to do that and some protest and some target me.

There's no way that I could be a congressman in a California district at 32.

Democrats don't win farm country, but I want to change that.

I didn't give favors to any companies.

I remember integrating the all-white Yazoo City High School after my Black school closed its doors. Teachers sprayed me with fire extinguishers, and I carried a stick to fend off attacks from fellow students.

There are some farmers who have been terribly discriminated against by the USDA. They've suffered tremendous losses and pain and anguish, and they deserve to be compensated.

I've been through the fire and came out stronger and tested.

Whether in public office or right here at home, I will never stop fighting for Mississippi. From the Delta to East Mississippi up to Oxford and DeSoto down to the Pine Belt and the Coast.

We made mistakes in 2018, as a candidate and as a campaign. I had not campaigned in 25 years, and people forgot me, they forgot my contributions as a congressman, they forgot my contributions as a cabinet secretary.

I'm a frustrated artist.

Thomas J. Huddleston never cast a ballot in his lifetime but he found a way to lift Black Mississippians up. And that is a legacy I will carry with me always.

Washington's incredible wastefulness of tax dollars is abhorrent to any sense of fairness or rational thinking.

In a raw political sense, I want to win farm country for Bill Clinton.

President Barack Obama governed with dignity and effectiveness.

I absolutely believe in the right to own and bear arms guaranteed by our forefathers.

I always said I wasn't guilty of any criminal activity.

If you're on a no-fly list... you probably shouldn't own a gun without careful vetting.

Just because red meat has germs doesn't necessarily mean that it will make you sick.

I think that as a government agency, USDA has a responsibility to reduce the levels of contamination and to mandate a stringent approach to protect public health.

Kamala has shown time and time again that she is a champion for all Americans. She is tough, principled, and fearless.

Whether you're African-American or white, you're concerned about rural hospitals closing.

Health care is not equal. We have failed our rural hospitals and our rural communities because we can't guarantee affordable and accessible health care.

I vehemently oppose clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op, especially a photo op that makes a mockery of a place of worship and the uses the Bible as a prop. It's just wrong.