Several left-wing lawmakers confirmed to The Washington Examiner that they would skip President Donald Trump’s inauguration today.
To no surprise, New York “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confirmed that she would not be in attendance. She claimed it was because of safety.
“I think it’s the general kind of safety and logistical chaos in that event. I’m opting out,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
In a follow-up video on TikTok, AOC said: "Let me make myself clear. I don’t celebrate rapists. So no, I’m not going to the inauguration tomorrow.”
Oh, are you triggered? Cry more. https://t.co/i5WHkMXAmz
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 20, 2025
She’s not the only one. According to the Examiner, at least seven other House Democrats said that they would skip Trump’s second inauguration. They offered a variety of different reasons.
Illinois Democrat Rep. Sean Casten said in a statement to the Examiner that he holds “great respect” for the office of the president. However, he said that Trump failed to “recognize that all of us who are in elected office succeed only to the extent that we hand our position off to our successor in better shape than we found it.”
“On Jan. 20, I could attend the inauguration and listen to the president-elect debase the office of president of the United States,” Casten said. “Or I could spend the day with family, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his patriotism, and the dream he had for the United States. I choose the latter.”
Another Illinois Democrat, Rep. Delia Ramirez, told the outlet that she would not attend because she’d feel “unsafe” due to her ethnicity.
“I am a brown woman, daughter of immigrants, and I would feel unsafe,” Ramirez said. “And a better way to celebrate MLK — who is the exact opposite of what we’re about to get as president – is to be with my community, with my people. Especially as this man, on day one, announces all the horrible things he will do to try to harm the communities I love.”
Maryland Democrat Rep. Kweisi Mfume used the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as his excuse to skip Trump’s inauguration, as well.
“The congressman spent years at the forefront of the fight to establish MLK Day as a national holiday and then later to establish it as a National Day of Service,” Mfume’s spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “As such, his entire day is spent every year engaging in acts of service out of respect for Dr. King’s legacy.”
There are other reasons why some Democrats are not in attendance. California Rep. Judy Chu explained that she would be in her district with her constituents to help with the response to the California wildfires.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told ABC News that she would not attend Trump’s inauguration. Pelosi is recovering from hip replacement surgery after she suffered a fall while overseas on an official trip in Luxembourg.
As Townhall covered, former first lady Michelle Obama announced that she would not join her husband, former President Barack Obama, at the inauguration. This came after she was not in attendance at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
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