In advance of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement:
“A lot of people are wondering which Donald Trump is going to show up tonight, but in truth there’s only one—the one who is dangerously unfit for his job, the one who has tried to politicize our justice system to shield himself from prosecution, the one who panders to the far right and belittles women and people of color. Republicans who continue to enable his agenda are putting their short term political interests above principles, above the Constitution and above the welfare of our country. Every president delivers a State of the Union address, but that shouldn’t distract us from the fact that these are not ordinary times. Our democracy is in crisis, and the pageantry of a big speech doesn’t change that fact.”
PFAW Political Director Lizet Ocampo said:
“The simple truth is that as long as Donald Trump and his allies are attacking Latino and immigrant communities, the state of our union is weak. Again and again Donald Trump has attacked immigrant families as criminals and terrorists; maligned countries in Africa and South America as ‘shitholes,’ and he single-handedly created a crisis for Dreamers by repealing the DACA program. No amount of spin will cover up the fact that he is holding hardworking young people hostage in order to deliver for his white nationalist base. That’s why people all over the country are focusing their energy on fighting back and delivering him a huge defeat in November.”
PFAW Senior Director of Outreach and Public Engagement Diallo Brooks said:
“No one should be fooled by the speech that Donald Trump will read off the teleprompter tonight. When he speaks from the heart, we always hear the same things: racism and bigotry. His speechwriters may be able to keep him on message for one evening, but he always reverts to form, like he did when he called Mexicans rapists and criminals, like he did when he all but condoned the Nazis and white nationalists who descended on Charlottesville, like he did when he attacked the peaceful protests of Black athletes, like he did when he signed his Muslim travel ban. Maya Angelou said ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.’ Donald Trump has shown us again and again and again who he is. We believe him.”
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.
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