Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Other Democrats to Boycott Trump’s State of the Union Speech

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and some other Democrat lawmakers will not be attending United States President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of the Congress, , scheduled to take place on Jan. 30.

Jayapal, who represents Washington’s 7th District, tweeted on Jan. 16: “With all the racism coming from the White House, I will NOT be attending Donald Trump’s State of the Union. Instead, we’ll focus on the State of OUR Union, our opposition to his agenda, and we will lift up a progressive and inclusive vision of our country.”

“I would not be attending the State of the Union this year. I join other distinguished members, including Rep. John Lewis, in refusing to dignify a President who has used the platform of the Oval Office to fan the flames of racism, sexism and hatred-most recently with his vulgar condemnation of Haiti and other African countries,” Jayapal said in a statement. Other lawmakers who will boycott the event are Frederica Wilson, Maxine Waters, and Earl Blumenauer.

Jayapal also said that the president’s approach was narrow and self-serving. “This president has consistently indicated that he has no interest in leading a unified country. He has gone out of his way to play to a small and shrinking base of voters by using language that diminishes and demeans vast swaths of people in our own country and around the world,” she said. Jayapal, who is of Indian origin, migrated to the United States at the age of 16.

“His path is dangerous. His path is destructive. His path cannot be normalized. I will not normalize it. This is our own form of nonviolent resistance,” she said.

Jayapal has shown strong dissent against Trump’s policies and was a pro-immigration civil rights activist. She currently serves as the First Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and serves on both the Judiciary and Budget committees.

The lawmaker and other Democrats, who have been fighting for maintaining the pro-immigration policies in the United States, have criticized Trump’s latest remark that sparked outrage.

He had reportedly referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as “sh****le” countries. Later he insisted that he was the “least racist” person.