Feb 7, 2020
Florida Man holds Nation Hostage at the State of the Union — and Nancy Pelosi Tears into Him.
In his (hopefully last) State of the Union address to the nation, we saw a blend of the stump speech that Trump usually gives at his rallies and also the misogyny, racism and ignorance that he spews out through surrogates, Twitter and watches on Fox News. When blending these all together, we see a man so engrossed with himself and his dangerous agenda for the country, that Democrats must be ready to vote like their lives depend on it, because it does. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up the speech in a very bold act of defiance and exemplified the Democratic response without having to wait for the formal video. We need to be willing to stand up to Trump and fire back at him, because playing nice is a losing strategy. It’s time to take on the Republican apparatus with the same force that it inflicts damage onto Democrats.
Last night’s State of the Union Address was inherently bizzare because of the impeachment process that was the elephant in the room and having House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say “I present to you the President of the United States” instead of “it is my honor to present to you the President of the United States” when introducing the President, clearly shows the breakdown of the relationships with the Democratic and Republican parties. This kind of discord isn’t unusual unfortunately as protocol that was in place before has deterioted due to the hooliganism that the Trump Administration is bringing to Washington, D.C. Speaker Pelosi had the biggest spotlight on her as she was directly behind Trump while he was making his remarks and expressed the displeasure, pain and unease that the country is feeling under this President as civil liberties are being eroded, our environment is being polluted and our children aren’t getting the proper nutrition and care they need to develop in the right way. While we almost saw the outbreak of war with Iran earlier in 2020, we are now seeing the Iranian regime make targeted insults and threats to American leaders (but our civilian population is not so bad apparently).
In his speech last night, Trump touched on Healthcare, Abortion, Immigrants and the usual targets he has for the perceived ills that American society has been beset by and the scapegoats for bad trade deals gone bad. Abortion is still safe, legal and present in all 50 States no matter how much the Trump Administration is doing to get Roe v. Wade overturned. Trump kept citing that his Administration -as opposed to Barack Obama’s- was the one making the most progress and helping ‘Make America Great Again.’ It reminded me of college and the emphasis I still put on making sure my facts are correct and coming from the right information source.
Immigration
With this President, the murder of Maria Fuentes in Queens by Reeaz Khan, put the spotlight on the Republican talking points when it comes to undocumented people and sancutary cities that don’t cooperate with ICE. Trump made it seem like the crime committed by Khan (which was horrific and tragic) was the ‘norm’ for ALL undocumented people and that ALL undocumented people were murderous and not fit to be within American borders.
Officials from Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement revealed hat back in late November, they had asked the NYPD to hold Khan for deportation after he allegedly assaulted his father. ICE officals said that because of the city’s sanctuary policy, Khan was released and not turned over to ICE.
City officials have said the Trump administration is politicizing a tragedy and that if Khan is found guilty, they will cooperate with federal officials.
Throughout his speech Trump said ‘illegal criminal aliens’ to drive home (to his base at least) how he thinks about people who seek to build a future in America.
It’s ironic that America was ‘founded’ on the same principle of being the ‘city on the hill’ or ‘new world’ by European colonizers who didn’t ask permission to build their habitation on indiginous land but through disease, warfare and sexual violence against indigenous women, plundered this side of the world and made it reminescient of the places they came from.
Though Trump was born in Jamaica, Queens, he seems to have carried on the legacy of Fred Trump -his father- in the racism and bigotry he spews on a daily basis as Florida man.
We have heard Trump on Twitter, SOTU, and campaign rallies degrade undocumented folks who are desperately fleeing the unhinged trade agreements and violence that stems from corrupt governments and local militias who are threatening entire populations ‘Join Us or Die’
Watching the SOTU as many Americans, I was horrified that we had a ‘President’ so easily manipulated that he will go off on a tangent and not know when to stop talking.
We see the ease with which you can get a reaction out of him. As an American I believe that the Democratic base must get out to vote. We must participate in the Census. We must fight back against hate. We must not take this as the new normal. We must not give up. As a field organizer I talk to Americans who are desperate to get this man out of office and it’s a duty for all us to not let hate win another term. The planet won’t last. Our kids won’t grow up in a supportive environnement and the future of American democracy will be at st stake. We need to send someone strong, qualified and who will match fire with fire and not be afraid to take down Trump.
This isn’t the new normal and we’re not gonna let this be the representation we send to the United Nations.
Please vote. Our lives depend on it.
