‘102 DEI Training Sessions!’ Blackburn Condemns Nashville Electric Service Leaders

Sen. Marsha Blackburn did not mince words during a wide-ranging interview on The Todd Starnes Radio Show on KWAM blasting Nashville’s power failures while celebrating what her campaign calls record-breaking momentum in the Tennessee governor’s race.

With new polling showing Blackburn dominating the GOP primary field and historic fundraising numbers rolling in, the Tennessee Republican said voters are responding to a clear message.

“People in the state of Tennessee want to see good, solid, consistent, conservative government,” Blackburn said. “We have been a well-led, well-managed state. And what they want now is to say, let’s be America’s conservative leader. Let’s pick up the pace.”

Blackburn credited her support to Tennesseans who “are grateful for the work I’ve done in the U.S. Senate and I continue to do every single day,” adding that voters want conservative progress in education, health care, energy generation, innovation, and cutting regulation.

But the conversation quickly turned to outrage over the ongoing power outages in Middle Tennessee — an issue Blackburn said perfectly illustrates what happens when left-wing ideology replaces basic governance.

“And here’s the thing, Todd,” Blackburn said. “They have 470,000 customers. At the peak, there were about 235,000 that had no power. That is a 50 percent fail rate.”

Blackburn said despite quick disaster declarations, President Trump’s approval, maximum FEMA deployment, and help from the National Guard and first responders, the failure rests squarely with Nashville Electric Service.

“We are the Volunteer State,” she said. “But NES can’t meet their one directive, which is to keep the power on.”

Blackburn accused the utility of prioritizing politics over preparation.

“They did 102 DEI training sessions last year,” she said. “And they cut the tree-trimming budget by $7 million because they were concerned about the canopy.”

She described traveling through heavily wooded neighborhoods and warning that untrimmed trees would inevitably take down power lines — which is exactly what happened.

“It is just really sad and shameful that there was no preparation made,” Blackburn said. “They were focused on DEI.”

Blackburn also brushed off media outrage over her association with Nicki Minaj, saying critics “just can’t stand it.”

“She is a supporter of Donald Trump,” Blackburn said, explaining Minaj’s involvement in a new “Trump account” savings initiative for children. “What a great way to have access to capital, financial education, and learn how to really build that nest egg that will help you all through life.”

On Capitol Hill, Blackburn said conservatives are pushing forward on election integrity without destroying Senate rules.

“I think we’re going to be able to do that without nuking the filibuster,” she said. “We want to move forward with President Trump’s agenda.”

As Blackburn wrapped up the interview, one thing was clear: her gubernatorial campaign is surging, and her message to Nashville bureaucrats is blunt — do your job, or get out of the way.

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Categorized:Local News