Rep. Wilson, Other Dems To Boycott Trump's State Of The Union
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - Several Congressional representatives say they will boycott President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address.
Among them will be South Florida Democrat Frederica Wilson.
On Sunday, she issued a statement which read in part:
"For the first time since I began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will not be attending the president's State of the Union address. I have no doubt that instead of delivering a message of inclusivity and an agenda that benefits all Americans, President Trump's address will be full of innuendo, empty promises, and lies."
Wilson also wrote that in his first year as a president, Trump has demeaned the office and damaged America's standing as a global leader.
"The United States' reputation is smoldering in the ashes of his recent racist and incendiary remarks about Haiti and African nations," she wrote. "Many of his proposed domestic policies are harmful to people of color, low-income communities, and the middle class. It would be an embarrassment to be seen with him at a forum that under any other president would be an honor to attend."
This is not Wilson's first public clash with Trump. The two were at odds over his phone call to Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson who was killed in a deadly ambush in Niger last October.
Johnson was on her way to the airport to greet the remains of her husband when she received the call from Trump.
"He said to the wife, 'Well, I guess he knew what he was getting into,'" recalled Wilson who was in the car with Myeshia. "How insensitive can you be?"
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) have also announced that they will not attend the January 30th address.
Liberal Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) also said he would not attend, describing it as "another destructive and divisive speech."
