I Won't Be “An Accessory.” El Paso Rep. Veronica Escobar Declines to Join Trump on His Media Visit to Racist Massacre Site.
August 7, 2019
EL Paso, Texas (Barbara Ann Spengler)
BUZZFLASH NEWS UPDATE
On August 5, BuzzFlash posted an article recounting that Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose congressional district includes El Paso, pointedly stated that the welcome mat would not be rolled out if Trump made a visit to the city:
On Monday morning, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Trump “should not come here while we are in mourning.”
“From my perspective, he is not welcome here,” she added.
“Words have consequences. And the president has made my community and my people the enemy,” Escobar said. “He has told the country that we are people to be feared, people to be hated.”
El Paso is more than 80 percent Mexican-American or Mexican immigrant. Its twin city is Ciudad Juarez, which is in Mexico. Until this past weekend’s massacre, EL Paso was one of the safest cities in the United States.
Now that Trump is actually visiting El Paso today, August 7, Escobar tweeted that she will not be joining him at any point because she does not want to be “an accessory.”
In a twitter thread, Escobar said that she had requested a phone conversation with Trump, but was told by White House staffers that he was “too busy.”
The concerns she wanted to convey to Trump included:
My message would’ve been that he needs to understand that his words are powerful and have consequences. Using racist language to describe Mexicans, immigrants and other minorities dehumanize us. Those words inflame others….
I have publicly said he has a responsibility to acknowledge the power of his words, apologize for them, and take them back because they are still hanging over us. I asked for a call so I could say this to him over the phone and ask for a dialogue that could lead to healing….
I was told that @realDonaldTrump is “too busy” to have that conversation. I declined the invitation because I refuse to be an accessory to his visit. I refuse to join without a dialogue about the pain his racist and hateful words & actions have caused our community and country.
Tomorrow [August 7], I will again be spending time with fellow El Pasoans who are dealing with the pain and horror left in the wake of this act of domestic terrorism fueled by hate and racism.
In addition, to these indicting words, Trump might be unwelcome by El Paso residents. As previously reported in BuzzFlash, the Trump campaign owes the city more than $450,000 for the costs associated with one of his MAGA events earlier this year.