Democratic lawmaker defends meeting with Trump
Post# of 51535
Posted On: 11/28/2016 7:44:54 AM
Democratic lawmaker defends meeting with Trump
Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spoke out Monday in the face of criticism of her decision to accept an invitation to meet with President-elect Donald Trump.
The Hawaii lawmaker, who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the race for her party's presidential nomination, was the Republican's first visitor of the day at Trump Tower in New York.
Gabbard, a 35-year-old veteran of the Iraq War, has been a critic of Clinton's calls for the U.S. to establish a no-fly zone in Syria, an action that the Joint Chiefs of Staff have warned would lead to war with Syria and Russia.
The congresswoman also advocates an end to allowing people from Britain, Syria and France to enter the U.S. without visas, pointing to the presence of "Islamic extremists" in those nations.
Trump requested the meeting to discuss "our current policies regarding Syria, our fight against terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as other foreign policy challenges we face," Gabbard said in a statement.
"I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the president-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government - a war which has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes in search of safety for themselves and their families," she said.
The lawmaker said she would "not hesitate" to express disagreement with Trump on issues where they differ.
"While the rules of political expediency would say I should have refused to meet with President-elect Trump, I never have and never will play politics with American and Syrian lives," Gabbard said.
Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spoke out Monday in the face of criticism of her decision to accept an invitation to meet with President-elect Donald Trump.
The Hawaii lawmaker, who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the race for her party's presidential nomination, was the Republican's first visitor of the day at Trump Tower in New York.
Gabbard, a 35-year-old veteran of the Iraq War, has been a critic of Clinton's calls for the U.S. to establish a no-fly zone in Syria, an action that the Joint Chiefs of Staff have warned would lead to war with Syria and Russia.
The congresswoman also advocates an end to allowing people from Britain, Syria and France to enter the U.S. without visas, pointing to the presence of "Islamic extremists" in those nations.
Trump requested the meeting to discuss "our current policies regarding Syria, our fight against terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as other foreign policy challenges we face," Gabbard said in a statement.
"I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the president-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government - a war which has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes in search of safety for themselves and their families," she said.
The lawmaker said she would "not hesitate" to express disagreement with Trump on issues where they differ.
"While the rules of political expediency would say I should have refused to meet with President-elect Trump, I never have and never will play politics with American and Syrian lives," Gabbard said.
(0)
(0)Scroll down for more posts ▼