At 108 minutes, President Donald Trump broke his own record last night for the longest State of the Union speech. Trump touted his tariffs and healthcare plan while blaming Democrats for affordability issues.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury said in a press call following the State of the Union, that the President's speech was full of lies and pandered to Republican voters. Stansbury referenced recent polling that shows the president's approval reaching new lows in key areas. She called the speech President Trump's opportunity to convince the American people to "not believe their eyes."
"To not believe prices at the grocery store, to not believe that they can't afford their rent, to not believe prices at the gas pump," Stansbury continued, listing her complaints about what was omitted from President Trump's speech. "To not believe that he's been illegally invading foreign countries and threatening war with Iran, to not believe that he is somehow engaged in a cover up of the biggest scandal in American history."
That scandal Stansbury mentioned refers to the documents that the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to reveal regarding the crimes the of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Several Epstein survivors were guests of lawmakers during the speech and Stansbury brought New Mexico State Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) as a guest. Romero is the chair of the newly formed Epstein Truth Committee and said Trump did not acknowledge the Epstein survivors in the room or the Epstein files.
"He referenced a number of the people in his cabinet but he did not mention the DOJ," Romero said. "He did not mention the survivors who have been fighting for justice and that was striking to me, considering how many were in the room waiting for this moment to be heard."
Stansbury and other New Mexico Democrats, U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez and U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, boycotted the speech.
Lujan said in a statement that, “the Trump administration has made life harder and more expensive for New Mexicans,” noting cuts to healthcare and food assistance and increased Immigrations and Customs enforcement operations.
The statement went on to echo Stansbury’s sentiment, saying that, "the American people can see through the lies."
Leger Fernandez tweeted throughout last night’s speech claiming in one post on X that, "Trump’s 'drill, baby, drill' agenda does nothing to help protect our beautiful, nature-filled lands and waters."
"Trump and Republicans just want to do one thing: to make big corporations even richer with public land giveaways and tax breaks," the tweet said. "And who foots the bill for these corporate handouts? The American people. We must protect our lands and waters, not just auction them off."
