Rep. Donald Payne Of NJ Snubs Trump, Skips State Of Union

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. has snubbed President Donald Trump by skipping this year’s State of the Union address.

On Tuesday, Payne – who represents New Jersey’s 10th District – announced he wasn't attending the president’s annual speech.

Payne offered the following reason for his decision:

“I refuse to support a president who has spent his entire term promoting his interests ahead of the public good. Traditionally, the State of the Union address has been a time for the president of the United States to be accountable to the people for the job he is doing. But the Republican Senate has proven that President Trump is not accountable to the people and that his actions to solicit election interference from Ukraine do not constitute a serious violation of public trust. This is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution and created American democracy. So I will not attend the State of the Union to protest the president’s actions as well as support my House colleagues who voted to impeach the president and hold him accountable. I go to a State of the Union address to hear the president. I do not go to hear a self-appointed king.”

It’s not the first time the Democratic congressman has used the State of the Union address to make his own statement.

In 2018, Payne brought Juan Lopez, a student at Science Park High School in Newark, to the address in an attempt to protest Trump's stance on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Lopez, who immigrated to the United States from Uruguay at age two and was raised in Newark, is a "living embodiment of the American Dream," Payne said.

• See related article: New Jersey 'Dreamers' Attend Trump's 1st State Of Union

Payne represents the state's 10th Congressional District, which includes the following towns in Essex, Hudson and Union County: Bloomfield, East Orange, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Maplewood, Montclair, Newark, Orange, South Orange, West Orange, Bayonne, Jersey City, Hillside, Linden, Rahway, Roselle, Roselle Park, and Union Township.

• See related article: Republican Challenger In NJ-11 Reflects On Trump's State Of Union

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