New Mexico Democrat says 'This is not normal' sign at Trump address was 'an SOS to the world'
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said during an interview that her “This is not normal” sign she held up near President Trump right before his Tuesday night speech to Congress was an “SOS to the world.”
Stansbury said it is “really important” not to “normalize” what Trump and his administration are doing “because the things that they are doing are not only not normal, they are illegal.”
“He is dismantling federal agencies; he is firing thousands of federal workers. They are laying off veterans, teachers, military, and they are harming our communities, and he is cozying up to our foreign adversaries at the same time,” Stansbury, who represents New Mexico's 1st District, said during her Wednesday appearance on CNN.
“I think it's critical that we don't normalize this behavior, so I'll just say that my sign was an SOS to the world, and I think I communicated what I intended to,” the House Democrat added.
Stansbury was one of many House Democrats who, in various ways, protested Trump’s joint address to Congress.
The New Mexico Democrat stood along the aisle as Trump walked into the chamber. She held up a handwritten sign that said: “This is not normal.”
As Trump walked by, Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), who had greeted the president, reached across the aisle, snatched away Stansbury's sign, and threw it away.
“Now, I think my Republican colleague's behavior was unbecoming of the institution, but welcome to Trump’s world – we are living in MAGAland right now,” Stansbury said on Wednesday on CNN.
Early in his one-hour-and-39-minute speech, Trump was heckled by a Texas Democrat after the commander-in-chief boasted about this 2024 presidential election victory.
“You don’t have a mandate,” Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) shouted as the speech stopped. After the lawmaker didn’t relent and refused to sit down, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) directed the Sergeant at Arms to escort the House Democrat as a loud applause from GOP legislators ensued.
“I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or make them stand and smile or applaud,” Trump said Tuesday night.
“I could find a cure to the most devastating diseases. A disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history…and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements,” the president added as he looked the side of the chamber where Democrats were seated.
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