US news

AOC, Ayanna Pressley to skip Trump’s SOTU address

“None of this is normal, and I will not legitimize it,” Ocasio-Cortez added, characterizing her decision as “deeply personal” and as a “choice I did not take lightly.”

Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley are members of the so-called squad of progressive freshman congresswomen who have become frequent targets of conservative media and have sought to push the Democratic House majority to pursue more-liberal policy proposals.

Last summer, Trump leveled a series of vitriolic attacks against the four lawmakers of color — Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are the other two — when he asserted in tweets that they should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” All are U.S. citizens, and three were born in major American cities.

Omar, whom Trump has particularly relished disparaging in recent months, said on Tuesday that she would break with Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley, tweeting about her plans to appear for the president’s speech.

“I am attending tonight’s address not to confer any legitimacy on his actions, his statements, or his presidency,” Omar wrote. “I am attending on behalf of all of those targeted by this President to say, ‘We are greater than hate.’ My presence tonight is resistance.”

Tlaib signaled she would show up, as well, tweeting on Monday the names of her State of the Union guests.

But a trio of other House Democrats said they would snub Trump’s address for the third year in a row: Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Frederica Wilson of Florida. Three more — Al Green of Texas, Hank Johnson of Georgia and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi — also confirmed that they would not attend the speech.

Trump’s remarks in the Capitol on Tuesday night will come amid his impeachment trial, with senators likely to acquit him largely along party lines in a vote slated for Wednesday afternoon. The president is expected to use his speech as another platform to promote his 2020 reelection effort, touting the strength of the economy under his administration.

Source: politico.com
See more here: news365.stream

loading...