Barbara Lee skips State of Union, says Trump ‘denigrated’ presidency

Rep. Barbara Lee of California said she skipped President Trump’s State of the Union Address because the Republican has “denigrated” the office of the presidency.

“I have attended every State of the Union even when George Bush was president and I totally disagreed with him on every issue,” Mrs. Lee, a Democrat, said at a women’s-led “State of Our Union” event, which was held at the National Press Club as Mr. Trump spoke blocks away to a joint session of Congress.

“I could not attend tonight because of President Trump’s disregard for our democratic institutions and his dishonor of the office of the president. He has not honored his office,” she said. “I can’t normalize nor condone his agenda and what he has done because he has denigrated this office.”

Mrs. Lee accused Mr. Trump of peddling lies, bullying political opponents and “fanning the flames of racism, sexism and bigotry.”

Mrs. Lee said the “resistance” against Mr. Trump is being led by women and urged them to stay engaged heading into the 2019 midterm elections, saying “an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”