Democratic Texas Rep. Greg Casar argued Democrats actually showed respect for a young cancer survivor recognized by President Donald Trump in his joint congressional address Tuesday by mostly declining to stand and applaud the president’s special guest.
“Every Democrat stands with enormous respect for the American people, whether they agree with us or not, and especially for those who are ill and struggling,” Casar said on Wednesday when asked by the Daily Caller News Foundation if he regrets how Democrats reacted to Trump recognizing DJ Daniel, a 13-year old boy battling brain cancer, during his major Tuesday speech to Congress.
While Casar asserted that Democrats stand with respect for Americans, most Democrats actually remained seated and quiet as Trump announced that Daniel would be made an official agent of the U.S. Secret Service.
“There were various different forms of protests last night, and lots of Democrats remained seated or held their applause during moments of recognition, like the brain cancer survivor or the West Point student’s military acceptance,” the DCNF asked Casar. “Do you think that was the right decision in that moment? Should politics have been put aside for a moment to recognize the positives of the night? What’s your stance on those decisions?”
“I hope that everybody prints this very clearly,” Casar stated. “Every single Democrat has enormous respect for the American people and for cancer survivors. In fact, you have cancer survivors here in this room. What Democrats stand against is Elon Musk and Donald Trump ripping cancer research to shreds in order to give billionaire tax cuts, firing doctors and nurses who are caring for kids with cancer right now in order for them to take their salaries and put them in their own pockets.”
“So, every Democrat stands with enormous respect for the American people, whether they agree with us or not, and especially for those who are ill and struggling,” Casar continued. “And I think you saw that respect last night as we respected those Americans, but we do not respect Donald Trump and Elon Musk taking cancer treatment away from families.”
It is unclear whether Casar meant that Democrats stand with Americans, and especially those who are ill, in a metaphorical sense given that most Democrats in attendance remained seated and quiet when Daniel was recognized. Casar is a member of “The Squad,” a group of young, left-wing Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Many Democrats also opted against applauding or standing to recognize Trump’s announcement that the U.S. is now in custody of the ISIS-K jihadist suspected of orchestrating the August 2021 bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 13 American troops. Democrats in attendance reacted similarly to Trump’s recognition of the widow and child of a slain New York Police Department officer and the surviving family members of Laken Riley and the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray; both Riley and Nungaray were murdered by Venezuelan nationals who entered the U.S. on the Biden administration’s watch.
Andi Shae Napier contributed to this report.
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