Democrats will raise the issue of impeachment directly to voters in their responses to President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, with Rep. Veronica Escobar saying he broke the law and demanding Congress “defend our republic.”
The Texan is delivering the party’s Spanish-language response which, according to excerpts, is shaping up to be far more combative than the English-language response from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Ms. Escobar will tie last year’s shooting in El Paso, which left 22 dead, to “hateful language” used by Mr. Trump. She’ll also say his immigration policy is an affront to American values.
And she’ll raise the issues at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment case, which appears doomed to defeat Wednesday, but which the party has made clear it is not willing to let go.
“We know that President Trump violated his oath by asking for foreign interference, jeopardizing the integrity of our elections, putting our national security at risk, and then attempting to cover up his wrongdoing,” she will say. “This is a tragic moment, and Congress must defend our republic.”
Ms. Whitmer, in excerpts of her speech, will attempt to deflate the election-year victory lap Mr. Trump is expected to take on the economy, saying as good as the numbers are, that’s not touching average Americans.
“It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market. What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don’t have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans, or prescription drugs,” she said.
Her state was one of three key Rust Belt flips Mr. Trump orchestrated in the 2016 election, delivering the White House to Republicans. The others were Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Ms. Whitmer pointedly said workers are “hurting” in all three states — and Ohio, too.
“Wages have stagnated, while CEO pay has skyrocketed,” she said.
In fact, median household income “increased significantly” from 2017 to 2018, the latest figures available, the Census Bureau said in September.
Ms. Whitmer’s speech comes as her party has begun what appears likely to be a drawn-out presidential primary, where the party is deciding whether to stick with liberal establishment figures in former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, or to tilt far to the left with Sen. Bernard Sanders, who though running for Democrats’ nomination identifies himself a Democratic Socialist.
With the outcome of that battle unclear, Ms. Whitmer, in the excerpts released Tuesday, stuck to safe ground, blasting Mr. Trump and praising young voters who Democrats are hoping to energize after a lackluster 2016.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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