Lawmakers vote to censure Trump

After the president’s reaction to Charlottesville, Assembly’s resolution calls for a public apology to all Americans

California lawmakers voted last week to express their criticism of President Donald Trump’s reaction to the violence in Charlottesville, calling for Congress to censure him.

The Assembly’s resolution, which 53 members voted in favor, four voted in opposition and 22 abstained, calls for the president to publicly apologize to all Americans for “his racist and bigoted behavior” because he claimed there was blame “on many sides” for the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia in August.

Both Assemblyman Dante Acosta (RSanta Clarita) and Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) abstained from voting on the resolution.

“Assemblyman Lackey strongly condemns white supremacists and their role in inciting the violence in Charlottesville last month,” Lackey’s Capitol Director Tim Townsend said Monday. “There is no place for this ideology in California or the United States.”

On Aug. 14, Lackey took to Twitter to denounce racism after the protests.

“My heart is heavy reading about #Charlottesville,” Lackey wrote. “White Supremacists have no place in 21st century America.”

Acosta’s office did not wish to comment on Monday, but the assemblyman spoke out on Twitter and Facebook last month after the protests.

“No room for white supremacy,” Acosta wrote on Aug. 12. “No room for hate. No room for violence. We are one people. #CAunited.”

House Resolution 57 author Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) said Congress’ censure should be immediate.

“California sent a strong message to President Trump, and the rest of the nation, that we will no longer tolerate his behavior,” Thurmond said in a statement. “The leader of the free world can’t continue to use language that legitimizes the actions of extremist groups that promote hate.”

In his resolution, Thurmond said Trump’s reactions to Charlottesville have “proven that he is unfit to be a moral leader.”