These are the Democrats boycotting Donald Trump's inauguration
The list of congressional Democrats who won’t be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration continues to grow.
After Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, said he would not attend the ceremony because he does not see Trump as a “legitimate” president, Trump hit back calling him all “talk, talk, talk,” no action. Dozens of Lewis’ fellow congressmen and women are also making other plans for Friday, January 20th -- many in support of him, and some in protest of Trump himself.
Here’s a list of Demoratic lawmakers who plan to sit out Trump’s swearing in ceremony.
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama)
“I simply cannot accept the blatant disrespect of Rep. John Lewis,” Rep. Terri Sewell tweeted. She also posted a message of unity, saying:
“There’s a bridge in my district we all can gain inspiration! I invite Trump & Lewis to join me in Selma to cross that bridge as one nation!”
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona)
“We must stand against Trump’s bigotries- birther conspiracies, attacks on Gold Star parents & civil rights heroes. I won’t attend inauguration,” Rep. Gallego tweeted.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona)
“Millions and millions of people who did not vote for Mr. Trump are being disrespected,” Rep. Raul Grijalva told a local Arizona news outlet about why he won’t be at the inauguration.
Rep. Karen Bass (D-California)
Congresswoman Karen Bass asked her followers on Twitter in a poll if she should attend the inauguration. “No” received 84% of the vote.
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-California)
Citing Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail and during the transition period, Rep. Cardenas said he will skip the inauguration. He will however attend the Women’s March on Washington with his wife and daughter the next day, on January 21st.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-California)
Rep. Judy Chu tweeted that she will skip Friday’s events in solidarity with John Lewis.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-California)
“It is with a heavy heart and deep personal conviction that I have decided not to attend the #TrumpInauguration on January 20, 2017,” Rep. Mark DeSaulnier tweeted.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California)
“There is nothing ordinary about this inauguration or the man that will be sworn in as our next President,” Rep. Jared Huffman said about his decision to skip the ceremony. He will spend the day doing community service work in his district.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California)
“Trump--who lost the popular vote--has made a series of racist, sexist and bigoted statements. In addition, he has attacked Gold Star parents, veterans such as John McCain and now civil rights icon John Lewis,” Rep. Lieu posted on his website.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California)
Rep. Barbara Lee tweeted she will skip the festivities in Washington on January 20th, saying “we have nothing to celebrate.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California)
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Rep. Zoe Lofgren said “I acknowledge the fact that [Trump] is the incoming president, but I’m not in the mood to celebrate that fact.”
Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-California)
“President-elect Trump’s recent attacks on Rep. John Lewis were beyond the pale and served as a tipping point which made me re-evaluate my original intention to attend,” Rep. Alan Lowenthal said in a statement.
Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-California)
Rep. McNerney told the Los Angeles Times he will not be attending.
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-California)
According to the Los Angeles Times, Rep. Napolitano will skip Friday’s ceremony.
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-California)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard said in a statement that Trump’s campaign rhetoric about women, Muslims, and Mexicans is “deeply contrary” to her values, and she will be skipping the inauguration.
Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-California)
In a statement to The Desert Sun, Rep. Ruiz said: “A real president doesn’t attack the press because they ask tough questions. A real president doesn’t insult and bully celebrities or everyday Americans because they disagree with him. A real president doesn’t use the office to make millions more for his own wealth or his family’s wealth.”
Rep. Mark Takano (D-California)
Rep. Mark Takano said he will skip the inauguration in support of Rep. Lewis.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California)
Congresswoman Maxine Waters said on Twitter that she never planned to attend Trump’s inauguration. “I wouldn’t waste my time.”
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-California)
Rep. Vargas plans to spend the day praying with the members of his district instead of going to the inauguration.
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Florida)
“This decision is not a protest of the results of the Electoral College, but rather, an objection to the demagoguery that continues to define the incoming administration,” Rep. Hastings said in a statement on his website.
Rep. Darren Soto (D-Florida)
Rep. Soto told a local Orlando affiliate he was “deeply disappointed” with Trump’s tweets attacking John Lewis, and he would be skipping the inauguration.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez said he will not attend the inauguration, but will instead participate in the Women’s March on Washington the next day.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois)
Rep. Schakowsky said she will not attend on Friday in prostest of “a President who used bigotry, fear, and lies to win an election.” She will participate in the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday.
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Kentucky)
“For the last ten weeks, President-elect Trump has continually denigrated the office of the President by using his bully pulpit for insult and ridicule ... This is not normal. It is an embarrassment to our country and to the office of the presidency,” Rep. Yarmuth said in a statement.
Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Maryland)
“I respect the office, [but] can’t tolerate disrespect,” Rep. Brown tweeted in a message of solidarity with Lewis.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland)
“These are not normal times and I cannot pretend as if they are,” Rep. Raskin said in a statement on his website.
“The moral and political legitimacy of this presidency are in the gravest doubt.”
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Massachusetts)
Rep. Michael Capuano said he will hold an open house for his constituents instead of attending the inauguration.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts)
Rep. Katherine Clark was one of the first members of Congress to announce she would not attend the inauguration in protest of Donald Trump, saying she didn’t want to participate in the “normalization” of his rhetoric.
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan)
“It’s time for Trump to grow up,” Congressman John Conyers, Jr. tweeted. “I stand with Rep. John Lewis.”
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota)
Rep. Ellison tweeted he “will not celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi)
Rep. Thompson will skip the inauguration ceremony on Friday, according to The Clarion-Ledger.
“Mr. Trump’s recent insensitive and foolish remarks about civil rights hero John Lewis were far beneath the dignity of the Office of the President,” a representative for Thompson told the paper.
Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.)
“I cannot in good faith and consciousness pretend to celebrate the inauguration of someone who has spoken so horribly of women, minorities and the disabled,” Rep. Alma Adams said. She plans to meet with her constituents instead.
Rep. GK Butterfield (D-N.C.)
“After prayerful consideration, I cannot in good conscious attend the inaugural ceremony for President-elect Donald Trump,” Rep. Butterfield tweeted.
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.)
Rep. Shea-Porter said instead of attending the ceremony, she will pray for “all of our leaders and people.”
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman invited her followers to join her for an interfaith prayer vigil instead of attending the inauguration.
Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-N.J.)
“I will not celebrate Donald Trump’s swearing-in to an office that he has proven unfit to hold,” Rep. Payne tweeted.
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.)
Congresswomen Yvette D. Clarke tweeted “I will NOT attend the inauguration of Donald Trump. When you insult Rep. John Lewis, you insult America.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Adriano Espaillat posted on Facebook that he is boycotting Trump’s inauguration because he believes “the hate-filled rhetoric that plagued his election simply will continue in his administration.”
Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.)
“The President-elect must get the message that his antagonistic and divisive comments are unacceptable. We cannot tolerate attacks on women, minorities or a civil rights icon,” Rep. Grace Meng said.
“I will work with Mr. Trump whenever possible, but this weekend I march.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.)
“The rhetoric and actions of Donald Trump have been so far beyond the pale — so disturbing and disheartening,” U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler said in a statement about his plans to boycott the inauguration.
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.)
“I will not attend the #inauguration2017 next week,” Rep. Jose Serrano posted on his social media accounts. “[I] cannot celebrate the inauguration of a man who has no regard for my constituents.”
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Slaughter said she will not attend Friday’s ceremony, tweeting that the is “proud to #StandWithJohnLewis.”
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez tweeted she would not attend in support of Rep. Lewis.
“Rep. John Lewis is a national hero and I stand with him! I also am not attending inauguration given the tone of Donald Trump’s campaign,” she said.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio)
Rep. Marcia Fudge tweeted her support for John Lewis and said she will stay in her Cleveland district.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon)
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer said he will not attend the swearing-in ceremony, but instead will spend January 20th in his district, then participate in the Women’s March on Portland on January 21, in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine)
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree announced on Martin Luther King, Jr. day she would skip the Friday ceremony.
“President-elect Trump’s actions go beyond any kind of reasonable debate—they threaten the constitutional values our country is based on. I won’t dignify or normalize those threats by standing by at his ceremony,” she said in a statement.
Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon)
“I’m just not a big Trump fan. I’ve met the guy and never been impressed with him. He’s the president of the United States now, so I’ll do my best to work with him when I think he’s doing the right thing for the country. But he hasn’t proved himself to me at all yet, so I respectfully decline to freeze my ass out there in the cold for this particular ceremony,” Rep. Schrader told told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pennsylvania)
“I accept the decision of the people. I respect it. But I will not celebrate it,” Rep. Brendan Boyle said in a lengthy post on his Facebook page.
Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pennsylvania)
Rep. Brady told a local Philadelphia affiliate that he will not be present at the inauguration on Friday.
Rep. Michael Doyle (D-Pennsylvania)
“I’m going to #StandWithJohnLewis. I won’t attend the Inauguration on Friday,” Rep. Doyle tweeted.
Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pennsylvania)
“I will not be attending the inauguration. Russian hacking must be investigated and I do not support the repeal of ACA,” Rep. Dwight Evans said of his decision to skip Friday’s ceremony.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee)
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said he will boycott the events out of respect for Lewis and in protest of Trump’s “unpresidential remarks.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)
“Winning an election does not mean a man can show contempt for millions of Americans and then expect those very people to celebrate him,” Representative Joaquin Castro said in a statement.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
“We are sending a message to Mr. Trump. Respect, like Pennsylvania Avenue, is a two-way street,” Rep. Doggett said in a statement.
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)
Rep. Al Green used the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. to explain why he will not be in attendance on Friday.
“Dr. King was right when he indicated: On some issues ‘cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But, conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.’”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia)
In a statement posted on Twitter, Rep. Beyer said he will not take part in “normalizing” or “legitimizing” Trump.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia)
“The sordid aspects of [Trump’s] behavior must not become the new normal for America,” U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly said in a statement.
Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Virginia)
Rep. Donald McEachin released a statement on his website explaining his decision to skip the ceremony, saying: “I have never seen a campaign that was based so much on hatred. I have never seen a campaign where a foreign power intervened to get one candidate elected and where the candidate did not even acknowledge, let alone condemn this behavior. I’m not sure what there is to celebrate.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington)
Rep. Pramila Jayapal said that she will attend to constituent business in Seattle instead of attending the inauguration, before flying to D.C. Friday evening for the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin)
Rep. Mark Pocan tweeted a stern statement calling on Trump to start acting like President Trump, “not an immature undignified reality star with questionable friends and a Twitter addiction.”
