Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Tim Ryan Walked Out of State of the Union Address

Anthony Gockowski

 

A handful of Democrats walked out of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night and then boasted about it on Twitter.

“I just walked out of the State of the Union. I’ve had enough. It’s like watching professional wrestling. It’s all fake,” wrote Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), who dropped out of the presidential race last year.

State Rep. Christina Hagan (R-Stark County), one of Ryan’s Republican challengers, said the Democrat congressman walked out “while the president was addressing Americans who were killed by illegal immigrants.”

“How disrespectful can you be towards your fellow Americans? When I’m elected to replace you, I will always stand with angel families,” she said.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) said she joined Ryan in walking out of the annual address to Congress.

“I walked out of that speech. The lies, the bigotry, and the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live—it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies. Shame on this forever impeached president,” she said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of the president’s speech, but Tlaib said she “would have shredded it.”

A number of other Democrats bragged about walking out of the speech, including Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA-06), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-09), and Jackie Speier (D-CA-14).

“I left the State of the Union after Trump—a draft dodger who has mocked Sen. John McCain, Gold Star families, and soldiers with traumatic brain injury—started talking about the good he has done for our military,” said Moulton, a former Marine.

Pascrell called Trump’s presidency a “national tragedy” and said he “can’t stand a liar.” According to The Hill, Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) seat was empty before the end of the address, but her office did not respond to an inquiry.

Daniel Lusheck, a press secretary for Trump Victory, called Pelosi’s antics a “shameful display of division” and a “fitting final tantrum before her impeachment witch hunt finally ends today.”

“Unfortunately, Representative Tim Ryan once again chose to join Pelosi in her petty antics. As President Trump delivered a message of strength, unity, and the great American comeback, Rep. Ryan chose to turn his back on the American people and join Nancy Pelosi in her games by walking out of the State of the Union,” Lusheck said in a statement. “Democrats should put their partisan games to and end, put the impeachment sham behind them, and work with President Trump to focus on the issues that really matter for families and workers.”

Several Democrats, such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), skipped the speech altogether.

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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tim Ryan” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Rashida Tlaib” by Rashida Tlaib.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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