Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) delivered the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address tonight. He spoke from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River.
“They are turning American life into a zero-sum game,” said Kennedy, referring to Republicans. “Where for one to win, another must lose. Where we can guarantee America’s safety, if we slash our safety net. Where we can extend health care in Mississippi, if we gut it in Massachusetts. We can cut taxes for corporations today if we raise them on families tomorrow. Where we can take care of sick kids if we sacrifice dreamers. We are bombarded with one false choice after another. Coal miners or single moms, rural communities or inner cities. The coast or the heartland.”
Kennedy, a third-term congressman who was elected in 2012, is regarded as a rising star in the Democratic party. He was selected by members of the party to give the speech and will be the first politician from Massachusetts to deliver a State of the Union response since 1985.
The congressman highlighted the economic concerns of working-class Americans, such as those who live in Fall River. He criticized a system that “makes stocks soar, investor portfolios bulge and corporate profits climb but fails to give workers their workers their fair share of the reward.”
Kennedy also praised people for having the courage to be a part of Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement.
“You serve, you rescue, you help, you heal,” he said. “That, more than any law or leader, debate or disagreement, that is what drives us towards progress.”
