Bronx politicians criticize Trump, call for action

On a cold, rainy day, state Sen. Gustavo Rivera stood at the corner of Fordham Road and Grand Concourse, stopping any passerby who would have him to hand out some literature and present what was, by then, a well-rehearsed speech. 

“There is something going on TV right now, I don’t know if you’ve heard,” he was saying. “The reason I’m not focused on that, and I’m focused on this, is that the next few years are going to be incredibly difficult.”

Part of what was going on TV that day was the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who took the oath of office on Jan. 20, as Rivera stood on the street corner. But the state senator, whose district includes parts of Kingsbridge and Kingsbridge Heights, avoided any direct mention of the inauguration in almost all of his conversations. 

Instead, he said he wanted to focus on informing constituents on the various services and programs that they could rely on at the local or state level. 

“We’re partnering up with organizations like Planned Parenthood, advocacy organizations like Citizen Action, other local health care providers and some other local organizations,” he said.

Rivera said he did not want to worry about what goes on in the federal government, but instead wants to raise awareness for organizations “that are actually building neighborhoods, that are providing services, that are building communities, that’s the only way we are going to do it.”

“The things that are going to come down from the federal government are going to be immensely challenging and they’re going to have an incredibly negative impact on communities all across the country,” he said. “However, to be able to survive this, we have to focus on what is happening locally, we have to focus on the organizations that are right here that are doing good work.”

Other local politicians, like Congressman Adriano Espaillat—who stayed away from Trump’s inauguration, along with nearly 50 other federal lawmakers—took a more direct approach in their remarks. 

“Donald Trump and the hate-filled rhetoric that plagued his election simply will continue in his administration. This is not Dr. King’s Dream!” Espaillat said in a Facebook post on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Trump’s inauguration drew protests around Washington on Friday. On Saturday, an estimated 500,000 people participated in a Women’s March on Washington in the nation’s capital. Another 400,000 people, according to estimates by The New York Times, took to the streets of New York to voice their opposition to Trump. 

Congressman Eliot Engel joined the protests in Washington.

“I was pleased to join in today’s Women’s March on Washington. Today’s march sends a powerful message,” he said in a statement afterward. “As both chambers of Congress and the White House are now controlled by Republicans, it is more important than ever to stand up. To stand up for women’s rights. To stand up for American values. To stand up for the middle class.”