During a town hall on Thursday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) discussed Trump’s Canada annexation goal.
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00:00You've likely also seen that Trump has proceeded with tariffs directed at some of our most important allies.
00:09Many of his talking points center on the supposed unfairness of a trade plan that he himself negotiated under the US-Mexican Pan-American Treaty.
00:20You can't make this up.
00:23Trump's strange obsession with Canada seems to be driving part of this.
00:34Here in Minnesota, we have about $22 billion trade with Canada.
00:41And alone in the 5th district, it's about $600 million in goods and services trade with Canada every single year.
00:53That makes up about 6,500 jobs that are linked to that trade in Canada alone.
00:59Trump has openly suggested that his intent to hobble Canada's economy and force the hint of becoming part of the United States.
01:09It should go without saying that this is absurd and an unacceptable way of dealing with Canada.
01:19But we also know in this room, we're very smart, we understand that tariffs are taxes.
01:31That they make everyday goods more expensive, they reduce purchasing power, and they disrupt our supply chains.
01:42Trump's tariffs would make everything more expensive.
01:48It means that it would make cereal more expensive because wheat would go up that we import from Canada.
01:55It would make housing more expensive because of lumber.
01:59It means our energy will become more expensive.
02:02It would become more expensive for us to buy vehicles.
02:07So no amount of him lying to the American people changes this truth.
02:13The EU and Canada's response makes it clear that the reckless trade policies have real consequences for working Americans.
02:23And we can't let that happen.
02:26And just like last week, the EPA took extraordinary steps to roll back environmental protections and climate policies.
02:42We know that this will lead to more deaths from asthma, heart attacks, and toxic exposure.
02:51It would eliminate climate policies that helped ensure the U.S.'s leadership in the transition to a green economy.
03:00And it will lead to more devastating storms across the country and the world.
03:05And it will only delay a transition to renewable energy that will happen with or without our leadership.
03:14And last week, Congress with the Republican majority voted to give Trump and his co-president Elon Musk even more power by passing the continued resolution to fund the government.
03:29Now, let's be clear. A government shutdown would be horrible for the Americans.
03:38But I could not in good conscience support a bill that would reduce congressional oversight, send more money for deportations, cut staff in the Social Security Administration, and eliminate programs for veterans.
03:55And I am disgusted that several Senate Democrats gave up our first point of leverage.
04:12So join me in thanking our Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith who did the right thing and voted against this disastrous Republican CR.
04:35Over the weekend, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act.
04:42This is the first time in our nation's history that this law has been used outside of war.
04:52We knew this was coming, which is why I introduced the Neighbors Not Enemies Act to repeal this outdated law because I knew the risk it poses in the hands of someone like Donald Trump.
05:07This old law allows Trump to expel people from our country based on their nationality alone, not a crime they have committed, just by claiming that they have invaded the United States.
05:26We don't know the charges or evidence or even the identity against the 238 people that Trump has deported over the weekend.
05:42But we do know that the judge ordered Trump not to proceed, yet he went ahead anyway.
05:50Trump is openly disobeying judicial orders.
05:56He is ignoring the law that Congress has passed and creating a constitutional crisis by attacking our Constitution.
06:07We know that this is just the beginning of Trump's plans on immigration.
06:13This administration detained and for a while disappeared Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.
06:25No criminal charges have been brought for him.
06:29He has been a U.S. resident with legal rights in this country.
06:38We've also seen U.S. citizens and valid U.S. visa holders detained for questionable reasons.
06:47He's rolled back the legal status of thousands of people, including Ukrainian refugees who arrived here, documented, and who have been working here legally.
07:00It has been clear to many of us that Trump was not going to focus only on those with criminal records.
07:10He's coming after any and every immigrant he can.
07:14And that's why it is so important that all of us know our legal rights.
07:20When you take stock of everything that Trump has done over the last two months, it is clear what's happening.
07:28Trump is a wannabe dictator.
07:32He will continue to ignore our Constitution, our laws, and the checks and balances that have been the bedrock of our country for 250 years.
07:42Republicans in Congress are unwilling to challenge Trump.
07:47They have abandoned their oaths to protect the Constitution, and our society will reckon with this chapter in our history for generations.
07:58Judges are constantly targeted by the mega-universe, with some of my colleagues already trying to impeach judges for the rulings that they have named.
08:10It is only a matter of time before their verbal attacks result in physical violence against judges like we've seen before.
08:17Across the world, countries are seeing the United States fall.
08:22They are seeing Trump trying to annex our ally Canada, parade Zelensky in the Oval Office while he closes up to Putin.
08:32They are seeing us abandon foreign aid, which for a generation has widely been regarded as the most important diplomatic work the U.S. does.
08:42People are starving to death as we speak, while food runs in warehouses across this country for no reason other than Trump wants it.
08:52This betrayal is not something we will recover from quickly, but we will do whatever we can.
09:00This is what the collapse of our constitutional democracy looks like.
09:07This moment in our history requires all of us to speak out and to show up.
09:14For all of you to keep posting on social media, keep going on protests, keep calling your members of Congress,
09:22make sure your family and friends who are represented by Republicans are calling their elected officials.
09:29Make sure they are registering to vote. Submit comments on the proposed rule changes.
09:34Find an organization that's doing work that you can work and volunteer with.
09:40Speak out in every way you can, especially if you or the organization you work for are personally impacted.
09:48We cannot localize what is happening. And I repeat that. We cannot localize what is happening.