Rep. Summer Lee on Boycotting Trump Speech, Jesse Jackson, Voting Rights, “Endless Wars” & More

Congresswoman Summer Lee chose not to attend Trump's State of the Union, characterizing his administration as authoritarian and his speech as 'gaslighting.' She believes giving him an audience legitimizes his falsehoods and that her time is better spent addressing the public directly.

Lee states, 'Because the president is disgraceful and I don't think it's worth our time to give him an audience. That's what he wants. He wants to be able to tell us to our face lies and gaslight us to our face.' She participated in the 'People's State of the Union' instead.

Lee interprets the House Speaker's refusal to allow Jesse Jackson's body to lie in honor at the Capitol as part of a broader attack on Black history and civil rights movements. She emphasizes Jackson's profound impact on progressive politics and his role in laying the groundwork for future activists.

Lee notes, 'This whole administration, this the this this past year has been about attacking black folks, attacking our history, attacking the legacy that has been created out of movements like the civil rights movement.' She credits Jackson with 'laying the groundworks for more progressive campaigning.'

Lee dismisses Trump's assertions of widespread voter fraud as a deliberate lie intended to disenfranchise voters, particularly Black, elderly, disabled, and rural populations. She cites studies demonstrating negligible instances of non-citizen voting and overall fraud, arguing that voter ID laws create unnecessary barriers to democratic participation.

Lee states, 'They have to lie to people to get folks round up.' The host provides data: 'A 2016 general election study showed an estimated 30 incident of suspected, not confirmed, non-citizen votes out of 23.5 million, which is 0.0001% of the votes cast.' Lee adds, 'instances of people, especially our elders, especially disabled folks, especially rural folks, being able to access adequate ID is a real issue.'

Lee criticizes Trump's foreign policy approach, particularly his rhetoric regarding Iran, as a complete abandonment of diplomacy and a dangerous path towards 'endless wars.' She argues that his actions make the United States less safe both domestically and abroad.

Lee asserts that Trump 'has completely abandoned any form of diplomacy' and uses opportunities 'to threat another country, to threat another endless war.' She concludes, 'everything he does makes us less safe abroad and makes us less safe domestically.'