Joe Kennedy III delivered an inspiring rebuttal to the State of the Union, promising to fight for DREAMers and telling Trump that America won't stand for bullies.
“Here is the answer Democrats offer tonight: we choose both. We fight for both. Because the strongest, richest, greatest nation in the world shouldn’t leave any one behind,” Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy III said in his rebuttal to President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address. Kennedy, 37, the grandson of former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and grand-nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, gave an uplifting and energetic speech about the future of the country — vastly different from Trump’s self-congratulatory and dour 90-minute address.
“The American promise…is being broken by an administration that callously appraises our worthiness and decides who makes the cut and who can be bargained away,” Kennedy said. “It would be easy to dismiss the past year as chaos. Partisanship. Politics. But it’s far bigger than that. This administration isn’t just targeting the laws that protect us — they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection. We choose a better deal for all who call this country home. We choose the living wage, paid leave and affordable child care your family needs to survive. We choose pensions that are solvent, trade pacts that are fair, roads and bridges that won’t rust away, and good education you can afford.
“We choose a health care system that offers mercy, whether you suffer from cancer or depression or addiction. We choose an economy strong enough to boast record stock prices and brave enough to admit that top CEOs making 300 times the average worker is not right. Bullies may land a punch. They might leave a mark. But they have never, not once, in the history of our United States, managed to match the strength and spirit of a people united in defense of their future.”
“You bravely say, Me Too. You steadfastly say, Black Lives Matter. And to all the DREAMers watching tonight, let me be absolutely clear,” Kennedy said, continuing in Spanish, “You are a part of our story. We will fight for you. We will not walk away. He ended with this: “Ladies and gentlemen, have faith: The state of our union is hopeful, resilient, enduring.”
"This administration isn't just targeting the laws that protect us," Rep. Joe Kennedy III says in Democratic response to #SOTU. "They are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection."
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2018
Rep. Joe Kennedy III addresses Dreamers in Spanish and English: "You are part of our story. We will fight for you and we will not walk away."
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 31, 2018
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