Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) on Wednesday explained on CNN exactly why she held up a sign that read “This is NOT normal” as President Donald Trump entered the House chamber before his speech to the joint session of Congress.
Images of the moment on Tuesday immediately went viral on social media.
As did when the sign was ripped from Stansbury’s hand by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and tossed into the air.
“I think it’s really important in this moment to not normalize what Donald Trump and his administration are doing because these things that they are doing are not only not normal, they are illegal,” said Stansbury, explaining her motivation for the protest.
“He is dismantling federal agencies, he is firing thousands of federal workers,” she continued. “They are laying off veterans, teachers, military, and they are harming our communities, and he is cozying up to our foreign adversaries at the same time.”
“I think it’s critical that we don’t normalize this behavior and so I’ll just say that my sign was an SOS to the world, and I think I communicated what I intended to,” Stansbury added.
Gooden’s behavior, meanwhile, was “unbecoming of the institution,” said the lawmaker. But it’s just part of being in “Trump’s world” and a consequence of “living in MAGA-land right now,” she added.
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