August 6, 2019

El Paso Congresswoman Says She Won’t Participate in President Trump’s Post-Shooting Visit

“I declined the invitation because I refuse to be an accessory” to his trip, Rep. Veronica Escobar tweeted Tuesday.

Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) answers questions after a press briefing, following the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart.Joel Angel Juarez/AFP/Getty Images)

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Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) has long been a critic of President Donald Trump’s draconian immigration policies, but now it’s personal.

In the wake of Saturday’s shooting at an El Paso Walmart in Escobar’s district, the Democrat said her hometown “has a very different philosophy…from the philosophy that emanates from the White House. We embrace one another and take care of one another.” She later said the president “is not welcome” in El Paso. 

On Tuesday, Trump confirmed he’ll be making the trip there anyway.

Escobar took to Twitter to express her displeasure and condemn the president, who she says “has a responsibility to acknowledge the power of his words, apologize for them, and take them back.”

The congresswoman also says she was invited to participate in the president’s visit, but instead asked for a phone call to confront Trump over his racist rhetoric. She claims her request was denied. Escobar says she’ll spend the day of Trump’s visit with her grieving constituents instead.

 

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