Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) announced that she would be boycotting President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address later in the month over his alleged remarks about “shithole” countries.
“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,” Frederica Wilson said in a statement obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.
“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,” she added.
The Florida Democrat said Trump “demeaned the presidency” during his first year in office and called the president’s alleged remarks about Haiti, El Salvador, and several African countries “racist and incendiary.”
“The United States’ reputation is smoldering in the ashes of his recent racist and incendiary remarks about Haiti and African nations. Many of his proposed domestic policies are harmful to people of color, low-income communities, and the middle class,” Wilson said.
“It would be an embarrassment to be seen with him at a forum that under any other president would be an honor to attend.”
Wilson is the fourth House Democrat to boycott Trump’s address, joining three other lawmakers — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) — who are skipping the president’s joint address to Congress.
Other Democratic lawmakers who are not planning to skip the State of the Union entirely are reportedly plotting ways to protest the speech, such as wearing black to show their support for victims of sexual misconduct.