Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn House members to boycott Trump’s big day

Velazquez, Clarke, Nadler skipping inauguration

January 17, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The U.S. Capitol looms over a stage during a rehearsal of President-elect Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony in Washington. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
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Three House members who represent districts in Brooklyn are among the dozens of lawmakers snubbing Donald Trump’s inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Friday.

U.S. Reps. Nydia Velazquez, Yvette Clarke and Jerrod Nadler have all announced that they will not be attending the historic event on Jan. 20 when Trump will take the oath of office and become the 45th President of the U.S.

They are part of a growing group of Democrats boycotting the controversial Republican’s big day. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that at least 50 lawmakers have announced that they will not be attending the inauguration.

Most of the elected officials cited Trump’s harsh criticism of U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), a civil rights icon, as their reason for staying away.

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After Lewis told Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” that he did not consider Trump to be a legitimately elected president because of Russian interference in the election, Trump angrily fired back on Twitter that Lewis was all talk and no action and that the congressman should be doing something about the poverty and crime in his district.

Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens) expressed support for Lewis on Twitter. “@repjohnlewis is a national hero and I stand with him! I also am not attending inauguration given the tone of @realDonaldTrump‘s campaign,” she tweeted.

A spokesman for Velazquez told the Brooklyn Eagle that the congresswoman “will spend her time elsewhere on events like the Women’s March.”

The Women’s March on Washington will take place on Jan. 21, the day after Trump is inaugurated.

Clarke (D-Central Brooklyn) admitted that, at first, she was inclined to attend the inauguration. “Like most Americans, I have viewed presidential inaugurations as a ceremonial rite of passage, and representing the people of the Ninth Congressional District of New York at the transition in the governance of our nation was understood as a tradition,” she stated.

But Trump’s treatment of Lewis, as well as Russia’s attempts to influence the election left her cold, Clarke said.

“To state the matter simply, the 2016 presidential election lacks integrity,” Clarke said, adding that she was also disgusted by Trump’s tone.

“Donald Trump’s recent insults directed at Congressman Lewis, who risked his life and was brutally attacked and nearly killed marching in Selma, Alabama for the right to vote, are part of a pattern of divisiveness that should not have any audience in our civil society. Anyone who hoped that the magnitude of the office of President of the United States would change the man who cruelly insulted Senator McCain’s wartime record or Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan has assuredly been disappointed in Donald Trump’s performance thus far,” Clarke said.

Nadler (D-Manhattan-Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge) said there were many reasons for his decision.

“The rhetoric and actions of Donald Trump have been so far beyond the pale — so disturbing and disheartening — and his continued failure to address his conflicts of interest, to adequately divest or even to fully disclose his financial dealings, or to sufficiently separate himself from the ethical misconduct that legal experts on both sides of the aisle have identified have been so offensive I cannot in good conscience participate in this honored and revered democratic tradition of the peaceful transfer of power. I refuse to sit idly by as he flaunts his illicit behavior without regard for the American people’s interest,” Nadler stated.

Republican Bob Capano, an adjunct professor of political science with the City University of New York (CUNY), blasted the boycotters.

“Democrats boycotting the inauguration are doing our democracy a disservice. Also, I know it may be hard to believe for some Democrats in NYC, but some of their constituents did vote for Donald Trump. I can only imagine the uproar if Republicans boycotted the inauguration of Hillary Clinton if she was elected,” Capano said.


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