WASHINGTON — Rep. Maxine Waters doesn’t expect to pose for a photo with President Donald Trump anytime soon.
In fact, the California congresswoman plans to boycott any meeting, event, ceremony or public event with the president, at the White House or even in her home district of Los Angeles.
“I don’t see myself meeting with him, sitting down with him, believing anything he would say or even respecting anything he would say,” Waters said sternly to The Associated Press. “It would not be honest on my part to go to any ceremonies with him or to pretend I am having a decent conversation with him.”
And if Trump personally invited her to the White House for a conversation? “I wouldn’t go,” she said emphatically.
Waters has served in Congress for a quarter-century. Now she’s turned into the passionate voice of resistance against the Trump administration. The 78-year-old Democrat lays politeness aside when she talks about the new president. When told that this is not normal political dialogue, she shrugs.
“My spirit tells me I cannot be silent. I must address this so-called president, no matter where it takes me,” she said.
Waters is a favorite target for conservatives. Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams said he thought Waters’ heated rhetoric was “very sad, very disappointing.”
Waters tweeted: “I am a strong black woman. I cannot be intimidated, and I’m not going anywhere.”