Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley will skip Trump’s State of the Union address, while Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib will attend as an act of “resistance.”
It appears the congressional "squad" of freshman Democrats is divided on how best to resist President Donald Trump.
The New York Democrat known as AOC announced she will not be attending Tuesday night’s State of the Union address from the president. She says her presence will “legitimize” Trump.
The announcement was instantly mocked by conservatives who thanked AOC for her “bravery.”
Fellow squad member Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) has also announced she will be boycotting the address, saying in a statement that she cannot attend in “good conscience.” Pressley will nonetheless be delivering a response to Trump’s speech on behalf of the Working Families Party.
Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) meanwhile has said she will be attending but her presence will be an act of “resistance.”
Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), the fourth member of the “squad,” announced through a statement that she will also be attending the address, but “not for Donald Trump.”
While the president has not said what he will talk about at his State of the Union, he has been tweeting about job numbers, his approval rating, as well as the Democrat Party's trouble in Iowa in anticipation of his Tuesday night speech.
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