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California Sen. Alex Padilla speaks on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center.<\/p>\n
Jasper Colt<\/p>\n
USA Today<\/p>\n
California U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla delivered a forceful rebuke to President Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union address, accusing him of lying about the economy, trying to manipulate elections and terrorizing communities with aggressive immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
Padilla\u2019s comments were released in a video speech minutes after the president completed his nationally streamed address on Tuesday night. The senator\u2019s speech, nearly all in Spanish, was in stark contrast to Trump who spent much of his record long address touting the country under his leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the golden age of America,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling major issues, including inflation, tariffs, immigration and the economy, according to a recent ABC News\/Washington Post\/Ipsos poll.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is that the state of our union does not feel strong for everyone,\u201d Padilla said in his speech. \u201cNot when the costs of rent, food and electricity keep rising.\u201d<\/p>\n Padilla focused his comments on Trump\u2019s anti-immigrant policies, which have led to a surge in arrests, deportations and detentions in California and across the country. He highlighted the dozens of people who have died in detention centers, two shootings of American protestors in Minneapolis last month and the ongoing large-scale immigration operations in Southern California.<\/p>\n \u201cThese operations began last year in Los Angeles, in my hometown, and have spread to communities in every corner of the country,\u201d said Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate\u2019s border security and immigration subcommittee.<\/p>\n Padilla has been one of the most outspoken leaders against the federal administration\u2019s mass deportation agenda. He was handcuffed by federal agents last June in Los Angeles<\/a> and has visited multiple immigration detention centers in California to speak out against inadequate conditions.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHe is doing things we never would have imagined possible here in the United States,\u201d Padilla said. \u201cDonald Trump promised to improve the country and our lives, and many believed him \u2014 but we are living a nightmare that divides and destroys our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n He also warned that the president is trying to \u201cmanipulate the next elections\u201d through executive orders that he said would restrict access to the ballot and by suggesting the use of immigration agents at polling places. Padilla ended his speech by encouraging people to register to vote, make their voice \u201creverberate this November\u201d and quoting popular Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl performance.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Bad Bunny reminded us a few weeks ago: \u2018Together, we are America,\u2019\u201d Padilla said. \u201cTogether, we rise, because our faith is stronger than any disappointment or any obstacle \u2014 including Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n Padilla and other Democratic leaders had touted the response as a way to counter Trump\u2019s speech, which they said would portray the country as improving. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered a Democratic response in English and dozens of Democrats in Congress, including from California, chose to skip Trump\u2019s address.<\/p>\n Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that Padilla, as a son of immigrants, knows \u201cwhat opportunity in America can mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHis message will stand in sharp contrast to President Trump\u2019s chaos and self-dealing,\u201d Schumer said in a written statement.<\/p>\n Padilla previously served in the California Legislature and Los Angeles City Council. He became California\u2019s first Latino senator in 2021 after Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to succeed then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Padilla won a full term one year later. His public rebukes of Trump stem back to his time as California\u2019s Secretary of State, when he spoke out against the president\u2019s unsubstantiated claim that millions of people voted illegally<\/a> in the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n