Rep. Seth Moulton criticized President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night, expressing skepticism about Trump’s message of bipartisanship. In an interview with Boston Public Radio Wednesday, Moulton said Trump has done too much to divide Washington to possibly bring the country together now.
“It's not just divisive here in Washington between Republicans and Democrats,” Moulton said. “It's divisive for the entire country. So the idea that we're all just going to come together and sing 'Kumbaya' and sing away all the investigations that need to happen because of his criminal presidency … I mean I just don't see that happening.”
Read more: Here's How Mass. Politicians Reacted To Trump's State Of The Union Speech
In his speech, Trump called for unity and the end to partisanship, which he equated to the ongoing investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.
“An economic miracle is taking place in the United States, and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations,” Trump said. “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way.”
This message did not inspire Moulton.
“It was a lot of talk, and we have very little hope for any action,” he said. “Once again, the president said some nice things, but they're pretty hypocritical to just about everything he's done since day one of the administration. He talked about bipartisanship, he talked about coming together, [but] he's led the most divisive administration, perhaps, in American history.”
Read more: Rep. Kennedy: State Of The Union Was A Call For Bipartisanship Only On Trump's Terms
Trump also renewed calls for border security, including a push for Congress to fund his campaign promise of a wall along the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico. Moulton says Democrats are willing to support measures to increase border security, but he draws the line at spending money on Trump’s proposed border wall.
“When the president tries to claim that Democrats are just, you know, opposed to border security or for open borders, that's ridiculous,” Moulton said. “We've agreed in the past to invest in making our ... borders stronger ... We just want to make sure that we actually spend the money wisely, because we don't have a lot of money to go around.”
