Duckworth Trolls Trump Over Oval Office Renovations As 'Gaudy And Ugly' As 'Saddam Hussein's Toilet'

Forbes Breaking News

During the Illinois County Chairs' Association Brunch on Wednesday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke about President Trump's renovations to the Oval Office.

Transcript

00:00All right! Good morning, Democrats!

00:08Good morning, Democrats. It is always, always so great to be in this room together.

00:17It's our chance to see old friends, celebrate our hard work, and prepare for the road ahead.

00:22But we could not be here today. We could not be Democrats.

00:26We could not be expressing our freedom of speech were it not for our military men and women and the veterans

00:31who ensured that we had those rights who fought for us.

00:34So all veterans, stand up! Let's celebrate our veterans!

00:38Every veteran in the room, stand up!

00:43And now, all of our military families, those of you with loved ones serving in uniform today,

00:49stand up and be proud. Thank you for our democracy!

00:56But there is no question that things are heavier this year.

01:03The Trump administration has already fired over 6,000 veterans from their federal jobs.

01:08They're looking to cut 83,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs

01:14that is there to serve the men and women who have sacrificed for this country.

01:18So I've got to tell you, it's been a really tough few months in Washington. It's not been easy.

01:25Every day, we see Trump, the five-time draft-dodging coward, and his Republican co-conspirators.

01:32They find new and increasingly cruel ways to hurt our country, making America so-called great only for billionaires, big corporations,

01:42and those with the narrowest, most backward views of what this country is and what it stands for.

01:47Have you even seen what he's done to the White House? How much gold and guilting he's put in that?

01:53It is gaudy and ugly, and it's not what America's about.

01:56And the last time I was in a room that gaudy and ugly was Saddam Hussein's toilet.

02:01And we flushed him down the toilet.

02:07But that is not how we do things here in Illinois.

02:10Our state is a beacon of hope.

02:12Governor Pritzker, Lieutenant Governor Stratton, under your leadership,

02:17Illinois has shown the nation how to govern with care and compassion

02:21and for all the people while delivering real results for the middle class.

02:24And in our state legislature, Speaker Welch, and also with our Cabinet Secretary.

02:32You know what?

02:33What Hakeem Jeffries is doing in Washington, we're doing here as well.

02:38We are beacons of hope.

02:41Kwame Raul, what he's doing with the Democratic Attorney General's Association,

02:47fighting these fights in the courts, is a Herculean task,

02:51and they're winning a majority of those court fights.

02:58We cannot win those court fights, however,

03:00were it not for the 235 lifetime judicial appointments Dick Durbin put onto the benches.

03:09Thank you, Dick.

03:14We in Illinois are a safe haven for women's health care access,

03:17for immigrants, and even from lawmakers from Texas.

03:22Chaos is the name of the game in Trump's America.

03:25But there's one thing that is constant.

03:27Republicans keep on over-reaching and under-delivering.

03:31They conveniently look out, forget to look out for middle class folks,

03:35choosing instead to spend their time enriching their ultra-wealthy, out-of-touch friends.

03:40But that just makes our work

03:47a half million Illinoisans.

03:50We will not forget who made it harder to put food on the table for hundreds of thousands of

03:54thousands of people,

03:59funding they cut and the departments they dismantled in the so-called name of efficiency.

04:04All to line the pockets of billionaires while delaying critical services and leaving the rest of America behind.

04:10We will not forget that they are doing everything they can to dismantle the nation's unions.

04:15Let me tell you, I flew into Iraq in a Black Hawk helicopter made in America by union personnel,

04:23and I knew that bird was going to get me home, and it did.

04:32And yet, they are trying to dismantle unions in federal government left and right.

04:38Our voices, your voices matter now more than ever.

04:42We cannot let ourselves become disengaged.

04:45We have to channel our outrage into action because there is too much at stake.

04:49Sure, there will always be people in hallowed halls who try to use their powers to hurt others.

04:55But the thing is,

04:57the great John Lewis, when I sat on the floor of the House of Representatives,

05:01trying to get a vote on gun control.

05:04The power of the people is always greater than the people in power.

05:09And if we want tomorrow to be better than today, we have to come together.

05:16We have to use our voices to speak out, even if and especially when anyone tries to silence us.

05:22The midterm elections are fast approaching, and we already know that Republicans are terrified.

05:28That's why they're trying to rig the system in their favor across the country,

05:33so that the voices of people can no longer be heard.

05:37But we are not going to let that happen.

05:39We will keep speaking up.

05:40We will keep making noise, and we will keep fighting every single day for Illinois,

05:46but also for the United States of America.

05:49Because the story of America is a story of resilience, of redemption,

05:56of being knocked down sometimes just, but never knocked out,

05:59because we are there to lend each other a hand.

06:01That is what Democrats do.

06:03When you are on your knees and you're not giving up,

06:05Democrats are going to be there to help you get back up on your feet,

06:08and we're going to fight right back.

06:10So are you with me?

06:14Let's get to work.

06:15We've got a lot of work to do.

06:17Thank you, Democrats.

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