Southern California Congress members react to Trump’s State of the Union

Feb. 06--For 89 minutes Tuesday night, President Donald Trump used his second State of the Union Address to push for a border wall, credit his policies for the nation's job growth, praise his tariffs against China, advocate for a ban on late-term abortions, highlight his administration's successes in criminal justice reform, and complain about investigations into his own administration and political circles.

Many from his party loved it, but Southern California's congressional Democrats weren't buying it.

Within minutes of Trump calling on God to bless America, (and throughout the speech, via Twitter), newly-elected and incumbent House members -- representing Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties -- issued statements criticizing Trump's address, identifying what they alleged were oversights, falsehoods, and distortions in the President's narrative.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Dana Point) criticized Trump for failing to mention man-made climate change. Government scientists have predicted a catastrophic 7-degree rise in global temperatures by 2100 that would submerge coastal cities, but the Trump administration is opting not to change course.

"The most glaring omission from his address was any serious proposal to combat climate change, which is already having a significant impact on our country, including more intense wildfires and rising sea levels," Levin said.

At least three Orange County congressmen -- Reps. Levin, Gil Cisneros (D-Yorba Linda), and Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) -- protested Trump's immigration policies. All highlighted the need for immigration reform by bringing DREAMers (undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children) to be their guests at the event. During Trump's speech, Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-San Pedro) called Trump a "hypocrite," for saying he wants immigrants to enter the U.S. legally even as he blocks them from the legal process of seeking asylum.

"Trump now talking about ripping babies from mother's arms," Barragán tweeted. "But he is not talking about the babies he ripped from parents he intentionally separated at our borders

Republicans found more to like in Trump's address

Rep. Cook Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) commended Trump's early calls for "a renewed spirit of bipartisanship instead of more gridlock, frustration, and paralysis."

Inland Empire Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) -- one of three Republicans still representing Southern California in Congress -- tweeted: "The state of our economy is strong," alongside an info-box noting that 5.3 million jobs had been created since Trump was elected and 4.6 million had been "lifted off food stamps" during that time.

"There's no doubt that we live in a polarized political environment right now, but if you stop and focus on the actual policies the President is outlining you will see that these are generally common-sense ideas that have broad support in our country," Calvert wrote.

Six-term Democrat Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) posted a stone-faced selfie with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) with the message: "Me and (Ocasio-Cortez's) reaction to Trump trying to smear immigrants. #NotImpressed."

Freshman Democrat Harley Rouda (D-Laguna Beach) rebuked Trump's call on Congress to prohibit late-term abortions.

"It's called a woman's right to choose," Rouda tweeted. "You're a man and you're not a doctor. Just stop talking. Please."

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles announced via Twitter that she'd be introducing the Dream Act, which would offer DREAMers a path to citizenship. She said she's also working with colleagues to develop "smart effective border security -- not POTUS's costly and unjustified border wall."

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