Tuesday, February 04, 2020

'None of This Is Normal': AOC Joins Pressley, Other Dems in Boycotting Trump's State of the Union
"I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump's lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution."

Jessica Corbett, staff writer Tuesday, February 04, 2020 by Common Dreams
AOC, Pressley
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) talk during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. (Photo: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Instagram)
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley joined a small but growing list of House Democrats who will skip President Donald Trump's third State of the Union speech, scheduled for 9 pm ET Tuesday.
"I cannot in good conscience attend tonight's sham."
—Rep. Ayanna Pressley
The impeached president, who could be acquitted by Senate Republicans as soon as Wednesday, is expected to discuss immigration, school choice, and foreign policy, among other topics, according to The Hill.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) shared her decision not to attend the president's speech in a pair of tweets, saying that "I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump's lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution." The congresswoman added she plans to connect with constituents on Instagram Live after the event.
Pressley (D-Mass.) also explained her decision on Twitter. She accused Trump of demonstrating "contempt" for the American public, Congress, and the Constitution, and concluded that she "cannot in good conscience attend tonight's sham."
With their announcements Tuesday, the congresswomen joined a handful of Democrats who also have announced they intend to skip the event in protest of the president's conduct in office.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said on Twitter that attending the address would not be consistent with her "fight and struggle against this dishonorable president."
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)—who advocated for impeaching Trump over his "bigotry, hatred, and hostility," long before the Ukraine military aid scandal came to light—reiterated his critique of the president in a tweet Tuesday, calling him "reckless, ruthless, lawless, shameless, corrupt, & unapologetically bigoted." Green added that he would not attend the speech Tuesday night.
At least three other House Democrats—Reps. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Steve Cohen (Tenn.), and Frederica Wilson (Fla.)—also will not be in attendance. The Hill reported that this will be the third year in a row that the trio has opted out of the event.
"I have chosen not to dignify Trump's parade of lies about healthcare, his persistent exaggeration, and his personal attacks with my attendance at this year’s State of the Union Address," Blumenauer said Monday. "His appalling performances each day continue to justify that decision, and I have no doubt tomorrow night will be more of the same—even possibly worse."
Cohen said that he "will not be a witness to puffery and prevarication flowing while our Constitution and our laws are disrespectfully and dangerously flouted." The congressman celebrated that his colleagues were also skipping the speech in a tweet Tuesday, linking to a Washington Post analysis of the thousands of lies that Trump has told while in office.
Some members of the Senate who are seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president also aren't expected to attend Trump's address. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) all have campaign events scheduled in New Hampshire for Tuesday evening. After a rally in Milford that is set to start at 6:30 pm ET, Sanders plans to deliver a response to Trump's speech from Manchester around 10:30 pm ET.


POLITICS
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez And Ayanna Pressley Will Boycott Trump's State Of The Union

The two members of “the Squad” said they couldn’t legitimize a president who obstructed Congress in the impeachment investigation.

Kadia GobaBuzzFeed News Reporter Reporting From Washington, DC  February 4, 2020

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.


WASHINGTON — Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley will boycott the State of the Union address Tuesday night, condemning President Donald Trump and saying they can’t “legitimize” his obstruction of Congress, particularly during an impeachment trial.

Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley, two high-profile first-term representatives and members of “the Squad,” announced Tuesday afternoon that they will not attend the speech. Fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar will attend, according to a Democratic aide familiar with her schedule, as will Rep. Rashida Tlaib. The four Democrats, all women of color, have been on the receiving end of Trump’s ire since coming to Congress last year.

“After much deliberation, I have decided that I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted late Tuesday afternoon. “None of this is normal, and I will not legitimize it. Consequently, I will not be attending the State of the Union.”

Pressley made her announcement minutes before Ocasio-Cortez, saying she could not attend a State of the Union with a president who “demonstrates contempt for the American people, contempt for Congress & contempt for our Constitution.”

“The State of the Union is hurting because of the occupant of the White House. … I cannot in good conscience attend tonight's sham,” Pressley tweeted.

Though she is not attending the speech in person, Pressley will deliver the Working Families Party's response to the State of the Union, which will run after the president’s speech. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who is also not attending the speech in Washington, will deliver the Spanish-language response to the State of the Union from her home district in El Paso, Texas.

And while Tlaib said she is attending the speech, she made the announcement with a scathing condemnation of the president: “I will be in attendance at tonight’s State of the Union address, but not for Donald Trump. Every action that President Trump takes will be under the cloud of impeachment. Donald Trump continues to break promises he’s made to the American people and instead pushes policies that harm people across the country."

Trump’s speech at 9 p.m. tonight comes just a day before the Senate will vote on whether to remove him from office over two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Republicans are expected to acquit him around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The president has singled out the Squad members at campaign rallies and in tweets. As recently as last month, he accused them of being anti-Semitic during a rally with his evangelical supporters.

The House voted to censure the president after he fired off a series of racist tweets attacking the four lawmakers. Four Republican members of Congress voted in favor of the bipartisan resolution, which said the House “strongly condemns the President Trump’s racist legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color by saying that our fellow Americans who are immigrants, and those who may look to the President like immigrants, should ‘go back’ to other countries.” The Squad held their own press conference in response to Trump’s tweets, saying, “This is the agenda of white nationalist[s].”

The group hasn’t hesitated to call the president out. The day she was sworn in to Congress, Tlaib said made news for saying Democrats would “impeach the motherfucker!”

Republicans have played the soundbite repeatedly ever since, and Trump’s attorneys used it during closing arguments in his impeachment trial this week to argue his impeachment is invalid because it’s largely partisan.


Kadia Goba is a political reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Washington, DC.
Contact Kadia Goba at kadia.goba@buzzfeed.com.


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