Gallego at People’s State of the Union: ‘They’re making us sicker, poorer, and less secure.’

WASHINGTON – Tonight, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spoke at MeidasTouch and MoveOn’s “People’s State of the Union,” a rally counterprogramming President Trump’s State of the Union speech.  

Earlier today, Gallego joined Senate Democratic leaders at a press conference and took to the airwaves to call out the President’s policies that are making Americans sicker, poorer, and less safe.

Read Senator Gallego’s remarks at the People’s State of the Union below:

“They want to call that the State of the Union? It is the state of denial. Because what’s going to happen under that Capitol is a bunch of lies. Lies that Donald Trump and Republicans are going to tell us about how great this country is doing right now. But what is true is that what’s happening right now is Donald Trump and Republicans have made this country, sicker, poorer and less secure. Sicker, poor and less secure.

“How did it start? As soon as they got in there, what did they do? They went and they cut Medicaid and they cut food stamps. Millions of Americans right now are without health care. The poorest of our country are trying to figure out how to make ends meet and how to pay for that grocery bill, because they needed an extra billion dollars for the billionaire friends.

“When they had whatever money they had left over, then they used it to hire the most amount of ICE agents ever to have the massive amount of deportations we have now that are also targeting U.S. citizens, racial profiling Americans, arresting Latino veterans, telling them you are not part of this country. [They’re] making them prove that they’re Americans when nobody asked to prove our citizenship when they were sending us to war for this country.”

“Sicker, poorer, and less secure. Let me tell you what else: everyday Americans are trying to figure out how to buy food, how to pay rent, how to pay that mortgage, how to get a car, and this President has done nothing to help. $1,000 [on] average every American has to pay for his tax increases, and now the corporations are going to get all their money back. Is every American going to get a refund for the $1,000 mistake that this President did? No. Not only that, he’s going to double down. He’s going to say, “screw you, Supreme Court. I want to do a 15% tax.” And guess what? All of you Americans are going to pay for it.  

“Now we have to figure out again, how are we going to pay for our rent? How are we going to pay for electricity? How are we going to actually pay for everyday food?

“We are poorer because of Donald Trump and the Republicans.  

“Let’s talk about security. In two weeks, two Americans were gunned down by federal mass agents in front of our eyes — in front of your eyes — and then they try to lie to you. You saw with your own eyes two Americans expressing their first amendment rights. They said to you that they deserve to die – two Americans. 2,000 federal agents, masked federal agents, suppressing citizens in Minnesota, acting as if they are a military occupation. You do not military occupy anything in any part of this country. Those are U.S. citizens. They deserve the right to free speech. They deserve the right to say that there’s something wrong in that community, and they deserve the right to protect themselves and say, “I will not stand for this. I will invoke my First Amendment rights, and get out of my city.”  

“Let’s be clear, no matter what they say, they are going to lie to you. And I’m not saying that just because I’m just another politician. I’m telling you because I have heard it. We talked about Steve Gomez. Steve Gomez wanted to do everything he could not to have to accept subsidies for his kids. He wants to provide, he wants to continue to have his personal business, he wants to be a responsible citizen. Now, he has to make that decision […] will I continue to pay for this very expensive health care, or will I gamble? Will I pay for my health care? Will I pay the mortgage? That decision was forced upon him by an uncaring Republican administration, by an uncaring Trump, who only wants to find more and more money to give more and more tax cuts to the richest of the country that do not earn it, do not need it right now.  

“They’re making us sicker, poorer, and less secure. Let’s change that, America. We are better than what is under that Capitol right now. We can make this country again the best country in the world, where everyone is richer, where everyone is more secure, and we are proud of everyday work. [Where] we can say that America is getting better, will be better, and will one day be the best. Thank you so much. Stay in the fight.”