Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Newsmax that the antics of Democrats who attended President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night amounted to a partisan embarrassment.
Lankford said to "National Report" on Wednesday, "It was embarrassing what Democrats were doing. If they can't stand up and cheer for the most basic thing — and that is the United States government should protect American citizens from people that are not legally present here, that are criminals — I mean that should be baseline."
Lankford continued, "That should not be an 80-20 issue; that should be a 100-0 issue. And Democrats just sitting there with their arms folded saying, 'No, that's not my purpose.'"
He offered that Americans should pay close attention to what was on display, calling the behavior of Democrats a "stark reminder of how far left the Democrat party has really gone."
Lankford said it's little wonder many important issues are running into roadblocks in Washington with Democrats pushing against foundational issues of the country.
"They're inconsistent with the values of Americans. Americans don't want to be divided on issues like crime and violence and the economy."
"They want a growing economy. And they want to live in a safe nation," he added.
Lankford said the display from Democrats, however, showed where they're aligned.
"That should not be partisan. And [Democrats] showed that it was last night."
Lankford accused Democrats of failing to help protect American citizens who should be first on anyone's priority list, and pointed to Democrats imposing a partial funding block on the Department of Homeland Security because of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an example.
"That's the kind of crazy that this has really become at this point," he said. "We have 250,000 federal workers that are not getting a paycheck right now because Democrats are mad at ICE and ICE enforcement."
Lankford said he is one of many members of Congress now pursuing legislation that would prevent any federal government shutdown based on partisan policy disputes.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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