Arizona congressman uses infrastructure speech to call Trump danger to nation

PHOENIX — U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) took the podium in the House on Thursday to presumably discuss President-elect Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan.

Instead, the congressman launched into a rant against Trump and called him a danger to the nation.

“I feel I have an obligation in this moment, as do many of my colleagues in this House, I have a duty to tell the truth about Donald Trump,” he said.

Gallego said Trump’s proposed infrastructure plan amounts to nothing more than a privatization scheme run by a con artist.

“We must not lift a finger to help him scam our country,” he said. “We must, instead, put every effort into stopping him.”

But Gallego does not want Congress to stop at being stubborn. He also called for the nation’s lawmakers to do their part in blocking Trump from gaining more power while in office.

“Rather than helping him protect the country, we must protect the country from the new president,” he said.

Gallego — who had previously called Trump “unstable” and offensive — said the president-elect must be treated as a threat to American values, its people and its national identity.

“We cannot treat him like any other politician or even like any other Republican, because he is not,” he said. “Trump represents something much more dangerous.”

The congressman said the nation is in uncharted territory with Trump, as he has released little financial information and is keeping family ties to his many businesses.

“We don’t know who he owes money to and we don’t know who is paying him,” he said.

Gallego was warned three times that his language toward Trump went against House decorum on discussing a person’s character.

“Duly noted,” Gallego responded each time.

Gallego opened his speech by praising President Barack Obama and his campaign message of hope.

“Even in a highly polarized and tumultuous time, he (Obama) has always tried to rise above and bridge those divisions and be a unifying force for good,” Gallego said.

The congressman went on to paint the president-elect as the polar opposite.

“Every one of us in Congress – every single one of us in Congress – knows who Donald Trump is,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what he says today or what he does tomorrow. His whole life and his whole campaign speak to who he is and what kind of president he will be.”

At the close of his speech, Gallego yielded his time back to the House.

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