The President's Speech: Eliot Engel Won't Shake Trump's Hand

Eliot Engel and George H.W. Bush entered office at the same time. And when, in January 1989, Bush, as president of the United States, entered the chamber of the House of Representatives, Engel, then a freshman representative from The Bronx, had an aisle seat so he could shake his hand.

And he has done that every year since. Engel would get to the House chamber by around 8 in the morning to make sure he was able to shake the hand of the president.

In recent years, he could be seen with his phone, sitting in the aisle, getting work done and waiting for his moment. Engel has said he first did it out of respect for the office but kept doing it because his constituents noticed, telling him they liked seeing him doing that.

Engel's presence on the aisle eventually became something that people would write about, as seen in stories by The Daily News, USA Today and PBS Newshour.

Last year, when President Obama walked into the chamber to deliver his last state of the union, he stopped by Engel.

"Eliot, you're here," the president said.

"Would I be anyplace else?" Engel said.

This year the answer is different.

"I’ve decided not to stand on the aisle of the House chamber to shake the president’s hand during this joint session of Congress, as I have done in the past through Democratic and Republican administrations alike," Engel said from the floor of the House on Tuesday afternoon. "This will be the first time during my 29 years in the House that I’ve made this decision."

In his speech, Engel cited what he said was Trump's rejection of "America’s traditional role welcoming refugees, which have helped to make our country great" and that "he’s cozied up to Vladimir Putin, the strongman who attacks our democracy. He’s moved to gut the Affordable Care Act and looked the other way when threats against the Jewish community have increased in recent years.

"I will listen to what he has to say today, but I will not greet him and shake his hand."

Watch Engel's comments on the House Floor:

Photo: U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel talks with President Barack Obama after the president gave his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, 2014. Credit: (Charles Dharapak/ Associated Press)