“Our country needs a president who supports us all — who unites rather than divides — who upholds rather than undermines our country’s values — who fights instead of supports the discrimination and disparities that hold our nation back. President Trump demonstrated tonight that he can sometimes use nice words, but his actions never match the rhetoric. He has never demonstrated any interest in making our country more inclusive, healthy, just or fair — and that is the true source of our strength. In fact, since the very day he took office, President Trump has advanced an agenda that is divisive, destructive and designed to take our nation backward.
The tax cuts he boasts about are a windfall for the wealthy that leave mere crumbs for hardworking people. In a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, just 2 percent of adults said they had gotten a raise, bonus or other additional benefits due to the Republican tax bill.
The regulations President Trump brags about eliminating kept workers safe, would have helped ensure that people who worked long hours for poverty wages were paid the overtime they deserved, and would have helped close the wage gap that punishes women and their families, and especially women of color. The budgets and health care measures he proposes punish the poor.
The Affordable Care Act mandate President Trump crows about eliminating provided health coverage and care to millions who will now, once again, go without.
The immigration reform and enforcement policies he supports are vicious and punitive — and his call for paid leave rings hollow given his support for a sham policy that would exclude 75 percent of the people who take leave, offer benefits too low to be helpful and threaten the viability of essential systems.
President Trump is deeply unpopular for a reason. From the deplorable move by his education department to reverse the guidance that was helping universities prevent sexual violence, to his disgraceful efforts to deny women contraception coverage and abortion care, to his seemingly endless immigrant bashing and race-baiting, this president divides our country. He did it again tonight with his gratuitous reference to the national anthem.
President Trump was right about one thing tonight, however: The American people are strong, and that’s why we are fighting back against his agenda every day in every way. From #MeToo to #TIMESUP to #BlackLivesMatter and much more, we are standing up for our rights and demanding better. In the weeks and months ahead, the resistance will continue to grow because the fight for equality is the fight for our country’s future — and it’s a fight we intend to win.”
