SACRAMENTO — Returning to his alma mater, C.K. McClatchy High School, Attorney General Xavier Becerra stood in front of students, parents and cameras Tuesday night to deliver the Democratic response to the State of the Union in Spanish.
“It says to other students that it does not matter where you come from, how humble your background may be, you can reach those dreams through hard work,” said C.K. McClatchy Principal Peter Lambert.
Having sued the Trump administration 45 times over varying issues, the attorney general is used to being at odds with the president. His speech was expected to be no exception.
“He is the symbol of resistance in California,” said CALmatters columnist Dan Walters.
Walters said we should expect immigration and health care to be top focuses for Becerra’s rebuttal.
“He’ll be talking about immigration, seeing himself as kind of the embodiment of the American dream. His parents were immigrants from Mexico,” Walters told FOX40.
While Tuesday night’s speeches are mostly symbolic, Walters says talking points will be geared toward party agendas for the presidential election.
As for students watching in the audience, just seeing an alumnus from their school on the national stage is a point of pride.
The attorney general’s speech was not the first time a State of the Union response was delivered in Spanish, as well as English. The first time that happened was back in 2011.
I know I am the product of those who fought to open the doors of opportunity. The optimism – that characterizes the waves of immigrants who have come here – runs through my blood. And if the state of our nation can be characterized as “strong,” it is because people like my parents and yours — citizens or immigrant — built this country.
4. And they’re also building a wall between parents and their children, by putting children in cages that separate them from their families.