Trump says nation 'stronger than ever,' but New Mexican lawmakers disagree

Breaking his own record for the longest State of the Union speech, President Donald Trump delivered a dramatic one hour and 48 minutes of prime-time television on Tuesday night, replete with the awarding of two Medals of Honor and two Purple Hearts, while celebrating the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic men's hockey team.

America is “bigger, better, bolder and brighter than ever before,” he declared in wrapping up to a standing ovation from the Republicans in the House chamber. 

The cornerstone of Trump’s address was a victory lap on the economy, calling this time a new “Golden Age” having accomplished a “complete turnaround from a year ago” and from former president Joe Biden’s administration. 

Trump also took victory laps on immigration, saying America is safer than ever, and on foreign policy, saying he’d ended most wars and would soon defeat a weakened Iran. 

Despite the president’s rosy outlook, the absence of most of the New Mexico congressional delegation reflected an increasingly divided nation in which the two major parties can barely bear to hear the other out. Much of the night, the room stood in stark divide, with Republicans largely cheering and Democrats stone silent, or worse, heckling and angry. 

Just about the only thing that united both parties was awarding the military. Trump awarded Medals of Honor to 100-year-old Capt. E. Royce Williams, a Navy pilot who shot down multiple Soviet jets during the Korean War, and Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, a helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump also gave Purple Hearts to Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and the family of late Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, the two National Guard members who were shot in November in Washington.

Members of the men’s hockey team received a standing ovation at the Capitol, just days after winning the gold medal against Canada.

"What a special job you did. What special champions you are," Trump said before announcing he will be giving goaltender Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

But the night was more defined by its awkward moments. Trump sought to smooth over some of the rougher areas of the economy ahead of this year’s midterm elections. His speech came less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down emergency tariffs, removing a major pillar in Trump's economic plans for the nation, which he called an "unfortunate ruling." 

Four of the justices were sitting directly in front of the president, and though they were the cynosure of his displeasure during the speech, he made sure to shake all of their hands heading up to the podium.

Addressing skyrocketing premiums on Affordable Care Act exchanges, Trump said he would soon introduce a plan to stop all payments to insurance companies and "instead give that money directly to the people so they can buy their own health care, which will be better health care at a much lower cost."

In another proposal to help people save money on their bills, Trump said he negotiated a "new ratepayer protection pledge" in which tech companies would provide their own power needs — referring specifically to data centers — and build their own power plants "so that no one's prices will go up."

New Mexico leaders react to State of the Union address

Only one member of New Mexico's congressional delegation attended the Republican president's speech, while the other four Democrats chose to boycott the event. Sen. Ben Ray Luján chose not to attend, stating that Trump put politics over people.

"After years of division, attacks on the rule of law, and policies that make life more expensive for New Mexico families, I expect more of the same," Luján posted on Facebook before the speech. 

The sole New Mexico congressional member to attend was Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who said before theaddress he wanted to see the president "talk about the issues that really matter to Americans and right now."

One of those issues was the economy, though Vasquez’s vision was much darker than that projected by the president Tuesday night.

"The president really has to lay out an economic agenda that works for working families in New Mexico and across the country," the 2nd Congressional District representative said. "What I've seen in the last year is that the wealth gap has grown. The rich are getting richer and it seems like the working class is getting the crumbs of this administration's economic policies."

Vasquez said another key topic is rural health care, an issue that is also important to his State of the Union guest, Carlsbad physician assistant Aaron Vega.

"I don't know if I've listened to a State of the Union all the way through before, but my goal when coming here was just to express my concern for my patients and anything or any policy or anyone who advocates for access to care and patient care is really what I focus on," Vega said. "Whether (they are) Republican or Democrat, if somebody advocates for health care, especially in the district of Vasquez and my city, that's important to me."

On the Democratic side of the aisle, there were some empty seats. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and Sen. Martin Heinrich were also among dozens of Democratic lawmakers across the country who refused to attend the president's address. Heinrich said he would "not normalize Donald Trump's actions and his abuse of the presidency." 

Rep. Melanie Stansbury chose to boycott the president's speech with her guest, state Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe. They instead attended the "People's State of the Union" rally on the National Mall.

Romero is chair of a four-person subcommittee tasked with investigating Jeffrey Epstein's former New Mexico ranch, while Stansbury is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and has been granted access to view unredacted versions of the Epstein files.

Earlier in the day, the two met with Epstein survivors who were invited as guests of congressional members to demand justice from Trump and his administration regarding the former financier and the handling of the Epstein files.

"We know that our country is failing to meet the moment to hold Epstein perpetrators accountable, so we’re here to stand with the people and to fight for our democracy," Stansbury said in a social media post Tuesday evening.

The meeting with survivors comes the week after the state's Epstein truth-finding commission announced plans to start issuing subpoenas to prominent New Mexico residents named in the Epstein files. 

The People's State of the Union 

In a show of protest against Trump's address, various congressional members — including New Mexico lawmakers — and their special guests joined in a Democratic counter-program to speak against the current administration. 

"We're boycotting because don't we know that Donald Trump's State of the Union will bear no resemblance to what's actually happening in this country today?" said Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn, which organized the opposing address. 

"He will lie, distort and ignore the real stories. He's not going to talk about the killings of innocent people. He's not going to talk about the thousands of people who are afraid every day because of ICE roaming their streets," she said.

Religious leaders, media personalities and immigrant rights activists — among several others — stood on stage to address over 100,000 viewers. The counter-program, which began before Trump's speech and lasted nearly as long, touched on a plethora of concerns they had with the Trump administration in what supporters said were concerning times, adding that Trump had "made a mockery" of the country.

The counter-rally reflected angry opposition seen inside the House chamber, where Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashada Tlaib of Michigan heckled the president at times, calling Trump “liar” and “murderer.” Tlaib wore a “F--- ICE” button. 

Braving the snow and cold on the National Mall, the rally saw all speakers throwing down their gloves in impassioned speeches, expressing anger toward the administration's handling of immigration, and frustrations with the economy.

"We are gathered here because we know that you cannot pretend that any of this is normal and that we will not and must not pretend that this is business as usual," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "We must get in the way of Donald Trump's march toward fascism."

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.