dislike of political poetry, "I don't think poetry should be asked to change political systems or rectify the economy, even though poets can certainly express how they feel about such things. Poets can, of course, write about their fears and hopes and wishes, but I don't think that poetry should be used for political sloganeering. I personally don't care for that kind of poetry, regardless of which side of the political spectrum it comes from." According to Leslie Monsour, "If an issue of social injustice is encountered, she approaches it through ironic observation, clever conceit, or worldly disillusionment, in keeping with her lifelong attraction to the Baroque and Metaphysical poets." In a 2017 interview, Espaillat sharply criticized sitting U.S. President Donald Trump on the one hand, and the excesses of both identity politics and Intersectionality on the other, for causing the political polarization of the American people. Espaillat commented, "There are a lot of rights to defend that other people have not yet been given, that are their rights by nature. And I think that if we isolate ourselves into little groups fighting for mine, and for yours, and for yours and for yours, we’re not going to make it. I think we need to become a whole tapestry of people who are fighting for all rights, including the rights for White working class people who are being underpaid and overworked and who have not been taught what they should have been taught. I don’t think we can afford to throw rocks at anybody, even the people who look like the enemy right now, because they’re not the enemy. They’re just … other people." Following the 2020 Presidential Election, President-Elect of the United States Joe Biden received a petition signed by more than 70 poets from Massachusetts to California, who urged him to select Espaillat to read her poetry at Biden's Presidential Inauguration. According to her biographer Silvio Torres-Saillant of Syracuse University, "This is a no-brainer to me... She may be the one American poet with the most capricious, inclusive vision of empathy and compassion. You can even see that when she speaks about our problematic American history. She talks about being the offspring of a slaver and a slave and can place each one in his or her historical context and their circumstances." In an interview before Amanda Gorman was selected instead, Espaillat commented, "Would I want to do