Adding her name to the growing list of lawmakers who are boycotting Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan.20, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) on Thursday issued a strongly-worded statement outlining her decision not to “celebrate” the swearing-in of the president-elect.
Pointing to Trump’s comments about women, Muslims, Mexican immigrants, and others that she said have “normaliz[ed] bigotry” and “appealed to people’s worst instincts,” Lee wrote: “I cannot in good conscience attend an inauguration that would celebrate this divisive approach to governance.”
“After the election, many hoped the president-elect would turn toward unifying our country,” she continued. “Instead he has shown us that he will utilize the same tools of division he employed on the campaign trail as our nation’s Commander-in-Chief.”
With the statement coming the same week that many of Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominees are facing senate confirmation hearings, Lee added that “we need look no further than the team he is assembling to find signals that the era of Trump will be one of chaos and devastation for our communities.”
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