[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 164 (Wednesday, November 16, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6267-H6268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
A PERILOUS MOMENT
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Comstock). Under the Speaker's
announced policy of January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Gallego) for 30 minutes.
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, our country is facing a perilous moment.
In my district, parents are reassuring frightened children that
everything will be all right. That is what parents do. Our job as
Members of Congress is to do the best we can to make sure that those
reassurances come true.
Madam Speaker, I was born and raised in Chicago. In 2000, I voted for
the first time in my life. I voted for Barack Obama to serve in this
Chamber. While he did not win that election, I was inspired by his
message of reform, change, and hope. Throughout his life and career,
Barack Obama has always tried to bring people together.
[[Page H6268]]
Even in a highly polarized and tumultuous time, he has always tried to
rise above and bridge those divisions and to be a unifying force for
good.
This is who Barack Obama is. This is who he was at Harvard Law
School. This is who he was as a community organizer in Chicago. This is
who he was as a State senator, and as our President.
Right now, President Obama is discharging his constitutional
obligation to orchestrate an orderly transition of power to a new
President. I understand and I respect why, under those circumstances,
he has chosen to emphasize a message of national unity. I understand
and respect why Hillary Clinton, who, despite the painful knowledge
that she received more votes than her opponent, is doing the same.
But I feel that I have an obligation at this moment, as do many of my
colleagues in this House--I have a duty--to tell the truth about Donald
Trump. We cannot treat him like any other politician or like any other
Republican because he is not. Trump represents something much more
dangerous; and while none of us want this to be the case, we have a
duty to treat him like the threat that he is--a threat to our values, a
threat to our people, and a threat to our national identity.
Donald Trump is 70 years old, and it is unrealistic to expect him to
change at this moment in time. Donald Trump is a sexual predator who
brags about grabbing women without their consent. To date, he has been
accused of sexual assault by nearly a dozen women. Donald Trump is a
demagogue. His political mentor was Roy Cohn, Senator Joseph McCarthy's
right-hand man. No surprise that Donald Trump burst onto the national
conservative scene by peddling a racist birther conspiracy, questioning
whether President Obama was even an American.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind Members to refrain
from engaging in personalities toward the President-elect.
Mr. GALLEGO. Duly noted.
Donald Trump is a bigot. Even Paul Ryan called Donald Trump's words,
when attacking a Federal judge of Mexican descent, the ``textbook
definition of racism.'' Donald Trump is a liar. Senator Ted Cruz called
him a pathological liar who is completely amoral to boot. Most of all,
Donald Trump is a con artist.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is again reminded to observe
the decorum of the House and reminds Members to refrain from engaging
in personalities toward the President-elect.
Mr. GALLEGO. Duly noted.
Next month, Donald Trump is going on trial for fraud related to the
fake university that bore his name. A series of exposes in The
Washington Post have revealed the systematic misuse of funds at the
fake charity he established. In Atlantic City, he enriched himself at
the expense of creditors, investors, workers, and suppliers while
running multiple casinos into bankruptcy.
Every one of us in Congress--every single one of us in Congress--
knows who Donald Trump is. It does not matter what he says today or
what he does tomorrow. His whole life and his whole campaign speak to
who he is and to what kind of President he will be for our country.
We should be horrified because it is horrifying. The man who boasted,
I alone will fix this, will fix nothing. He has broken us apart.
Millions of Americans are living in fear because he has threatened
them--Muslims, Latinos, African Americans, women, the disabled, the
LGBT community, and more.
Donald Trump will be our next President. We here in Congress must
oppose his agenda. We must oppose his efforts to increase his power.
Anything that makes Donald Trump more powerful makes him more
dangerous.
Look at who Donald Trump is. Look at the life he has led. Look at the
campaign he ran. No one should be under any illusions. Never more in my
lifetime have we needed strong, aggressive, innovative, strategic
leadership from the Democratic Party and the progressive movement that
fuels it. Donald Trump will not be an ordinary President. Rather than
helping him protect the country, we must protect the country from the
new President.
Madam Speaker, this is unchartered territory.
In the days since his election, Trump has attacked the right to
protest. He has attacked The New York Times for its critical coverage.
He announced that Steve Bannon, a White nationalist racist, will serve
as his senior adviser in his White House. He has committed to deporting
2 to 3 million immigrants immediately. His team has threatened legal
action against a Senator who criticized him; and on the campaign trail,
he threatened to use the regulatory powers of the Federal Government to
retaliate against his critics.
Despite his promise to drain the swamp of corruption in Washington,
he is stacking his transition team with corporate lobbyists. Trump is
preparing to install foxes to watch the people's henhouse.
Last but by no means least, he has refused to engage in any
meaningful financial disclosures or to take any steps to effectively
mitigate the conflicts of interest inherent in the President of the
United States and also being the head of an opaque network of privately
held companies. We don't know who he owes money to, and we don't know
who is paying him. He has installed his children and heirs to manage
his company even while they serve as top advisers to his transition.
Given everything we know about Donald Trump and everything we don't
know, I was alarmed by the words of senior leaders from both the
progressive and centrist wings of the Democratic Party regarding their
openness to working with Donald Trump on infrastructure. Under ordinary
circumstances, we would welcome a plan to invest in America's
infrastructure even if that plan came from the other side of the
aisle--especially if it came from the other side of the aisle. But
Donald Trump is not an ordinary politician. He is a con artist. He has
refused to give the American people reason to believe that he is not in
this to enrich himself.
In fact, he has bucked tradition by maintaining his family's interest
in a private corporation. Unfortunately, his infrastructure plan is
really a privatization scheme.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair again reminds the gentleman to
observe the decorum of the House. Members are to refrain from engaging
in personalities toward the President-elect.
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, duly noted.
He is not reaching out. He is reaching his hand into America's
pockets, and we must not let him do it.
When President Obama took office, even Americans who didn't support
him celebrated his election and what he said about our country, and we
united in wishing him well. Here in Congress, however, Republicans
announced that they would not lift a finger to help him lead our
country.
As Donald Trump takes office, even Americans who did reluctantly cast
their votes for him worry about what his election says about our
country. And if we are united, it is our fervent hope that he does not
govern the way he has campaigned. Here in Congress, however, we cannot
afford to give him the benefit of the doubt. We must not lift a finger
to help him scam our country. We must, instead, put every effort into
stopping him.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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