Rep. Escobar declines to join Trump during El Paso visit, saying 'I refuse to be an accessory'

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday August 06, 2019 · 3:29 PM PDT

2019/08/06 · 15:29

Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) answers questions after a press briefing, following a mass fatal shooting, at the El Paso Regional Communications Center in El Paso, Texas, on August 3, 2019. - A gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 20 people Saturday when he opened fire on shoppers at a packed Walmart store in the latest mass shooting in the United States. (Photo by Joel Angel JUAREZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOEL ANGEL JUAREZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar said she won’t join Donald Trump during his visit to El Paso on Wednesday, saying that she “declined the invitation because I refuse to be an accessory to his visit.” Escobar writes that she instead wanted to have a phone call with him to express “that his words are powerful and have consequences,” but was dismissed and told he was “too busy.”

My message wouldÃ¢ÂÂve been that he needs to understand that his words are powerful and have consequences. Using racist language to describe Mexicans, immigrants and other minorities dehumanize us. Those words inflame others.
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) August 6, 2019

I have publicly said he has a responsibility to acknowledge the power of his words, apologize for them, and take them back because they are still hanging over us. I asked for a call so I could say this to him over the phone and ask for a dialogue that could lead to healing.
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) August 6, 2019

Tomorrow, I will again be spending time with fellow El Pasoans who are dealing with the pain and horror left in the wake of this act of domestic terrorism fueled by hate and racism.

Join #ElPasoStrong: https://t.co/CVLa38NJBf
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) August 6, 2019

It’s clear the White House’s invitation was not in good faith, but for optics due to the president’s racist rhetoric inciting white supremacist violence. Rep. Escobar made the right choice, and that’s to continue meeting with those most affected by Trump’s words, previously saying that “the president has made my community and my people the enemy. He has told the country that we are people to be feared, people to be hated.”

Rep. Escobar declines to join Trump during El Paso visit, saying 'I refuse to be an accessory'

Comments are closed on this story.