Rep. Watson Coleman Statement Following Trump’s State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) released the following statement in response to Trump’s first State of the Union address:

“Last year, following the joint session of Congress, I said that Donald Trump is treating the presidency like a reality television show when the livelihood of the American public is at stake – a year later – I feel no different. The American people want real action that will put them back to work, not hollow promises and vague soundbites. Donald Trump had the audacity to come before Congress, our guests and the American people at large and gloss over his dismal record. Launching a presidency with: a Muslim Ban, stripping protections for DACA recipients, failure to implement Russia sanctions, attacking the DOJ and FBI, working in vain to repeal the Affordable Care Act and strip healthcare from 30 million Americans and ramming through a tax scam to raise taxes on families across New Jersey. Donald Trump spent two years on the campaign trail and a year as President making clear his dangerous agenda for America, and his first State of the Union was more of the same.”

“We were not fooled by his disingenuous calls  to unify the nation when he has spent his entire presidency castigating and scapegoating immigrants,  and stoking fear of violent immigrants terrorizing our communities. Immigrants are the backbone of our nation and instead of getting behind comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for our DREAMERs, he doubled down on his isolationist, anti-immigrant ideology.”

“Donald Trump erroneously claims credit for President Obama’s extraordinary economic recovery—even the auto bailout from 2009—but has nothing else to tout after a dismal first year in office.  His so-called “infrastructure plan” would severely underfund our roads, bridges and waterways, strap state and local governments with debt, and take a hatchet to longstanding federal environmental and safety protections. His tax plan raises taxes on New Jersey families,  handsomely rewards millionaires and billionaires on Wall Street, while providing little to no benefit on hiring or wages for working Americans. Despite his claims, companies are taking their tax breaks with one hand, and laying off workers with the other.”

“Donald Trump spoke of his goals of unifying the nation. The first thing he should do is apologize for his racism, xenophobia, and sexism. He should apologize for insulting our allies and partners across the globe. He should apologize for embarrassing our nation and diminishing America’s stature on the world stage.”