Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, delivering the Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday, reinforced the feeling shared by his fellow Democrats after Mr. Trump’s first year in office: “This is not right.”
“It would be easy to dismiss the past year as chaos. Partisanship. Politics,” the congressman said from Fall River, Massachusetts. “But it’s far bigger than that. This administration isn’t just targeting the laws that protect us – they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection.”
Kennedy, former president John F. Kennedy’s grand nephew, answered Mr. Trump’s speech with a promise to stand by Dreamers — “we will fight for you. We will not walk away,” he vowed. The three-term congressman also addressed other victims of inequality, telling them, “The strongest, richest, greatest nation in the world shouldn’t leave anyone behind.”
While Kennedy did not call out Mr. Trump by name in his speech, he did make references to his character, suggesting that his administration measured dignity “by your net worth, your celebrity, your headlines, your crowd size.”
“Bullies may land a punch,” Kennedy said. “They might leave a mark. But they have never, not once, in the history of our United States, managed to match the strength and spirit of a people united in defense of their future.”
He said that while “many have spent the past year anxious, angry, afraid,” Democrats must not give up hope or lose sight of their party’s goals.
“Politicians can be cheered for the promises they make. Our country will be judged by the promises we keep,” Kennedy said.
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