Trump's State of the Union address 2020: Furious Democrats respond with rebuttals, boycotts and walk-outs
The Democrats were more than annoyed to hear President Donald Trump delivering his third State of the Union (SOTU) speech at the House Chamber on Tuesday, February 4. The Republican commander-in-chief made tall claims about America’s health today in all aspects but the Democrats were less than convinced.
Michigan governor takes on Trump in rebuttal speech
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitman, for instance, said instead of talking about what Trump is saying, she would talk about what the Democrats are doing. “After all, you can listen to what someone says but to know the truth, watch what they do,” she said in her address.
“Congressional Democrats have presented proposals to keep us moving forward. But President Trump and Republicans in the Senate are blocking the path.
Bullying people on Twitter doesn't fix bridges -- it burns them. Our energy should be used to solve problems,” she said with a clear dig at the president.
Trump ignored climate change: Sanders
Vermont Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who often calls Trump the most dangerous president the US has ever had, reacted to the SOTU speech in a tweet saying how could the president ignore the topic of climate change when making the speech in 2020.
Sanders took to Twitter, taking a dig at Trump’s statement: “We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions”. “Really?” he questioned and then adding that it was Trump himself who came very close to throwing 32 million people of the US off the healthcare they have and put an end to the Affordable Care Act’s protection for pre-existing conditions.
Former vice-president Joe Biden also reacted to Trump’s SOTU speech, especially that part in which he targeted the economic policies of the previous administration of Barack Obama. He said: “If we hadn’t reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not be witnessing this great economic success.”
Reacting to this, the former No 2 of the Obama administration, who is also running for the president this year, said it was their administration that had brought the economy back from the brink of recession, saved the auto industry and made healthcare available to countless families.
“Donald Trump gave billionaires a tax break,” Biden, who appears to have a disappointing outing in the Iowa Caucuses, said.
Warren refuses to attend SOTU address
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said she chose to be not part of the SOTU speech since Trump has been impeached for pressuring a foreign government to interfere in the US election. In another tweet, she said: “But the character of our country—and the state of our union—aren’t determined by Trump. They’re determined by our people, and we’re stronger than Donald Trump. Now more than ever, we must choose courage and hope over fear.”
Omar, who like Tlaib, wore traditional outfits to attend the SOTU speech, pointed out that issues like climate change, banning Muslim countries, separation of families, tax scam for the rich were not raised by Trump.
Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley boycotts Trump speech
Other ‘Squad’ members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley also chose to boycott the SOTU speech of Trump. Ocasio-Cortez or “AOC” said in the defense of her decision that she did not want her presence to “legitimize” the president’s “lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution”. She retweeted the anguish shown over fellow Democrats over Trump's speech and even retweeted the video showing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tearing off a copy of the speech after the conclusion of Trump's address with a surprise emoji.
Pascrell, Tlaib and Ryan walk out
One veteran Democratic lawmakers like Bill Pascrell (New Jersey), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan) and Tim Ryan (Ohio) even walked out during the speech. Pascrell said he could not stand “a liar”.