WASHINGTON — Hundreds gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland, Sunday evening as top Democrats from across the state jeered at President Donald Trump and promised to be leaders in resisting the Trump administration and its policies.
“If they think that we are going to stand by and watch them repeal all the progress that we’ve made, then they must not know who we are,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, who used harsh language, calling the president a “malignant, obsessive narcissist and compulsive liar.”
“We’ve got to wake up every day, and we gotta (sic) go fight like hell for liberal Democracy, not just in Maryland,” said Raskin, D-Md.
Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, also was a target after resigning this month for making misleading statements about having contact with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump’s inauguration.
“We turned up the heat,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said to raucous applause. “Thank all of you for your vigilance and persistence in making Michael Flynn the shortest-lived national security adviser.”
Along with Raskin and Van Hollen, speakers included Sen. Ben Cardin and Reps. Anthony Brown, John Delaney and John Sarbanes. Other participants included Maryland state delegates and senators and a number of Montgomery County Council members.
“What do we have to do? We have to resist,” Delaney said to the audience. “This is a defining moment. It’s stirring our hearts and stirring our emotions and we’re committed to resisting with you.”
Cardin told the crowd he continues to be deeply troubled by reports that Russia actively worked to influence the presidential election.
“Clearly they attacked us,” he said, repeating his call for an independent commission to step in and investigate the matter. “They wanted to interfere in our elections and they had a favorite, and that favorite was Donald Trump. We need to understand what happened.”
Maryland Republican Party officials responded to the rally in a statement to WTOP: “It appears the Democrats have reached the fifth stage of grief. Anger is not a governing strategy. When the Democrats get the anger out of their system, Republicans will be ready to work with Democrats to promote common sense policies to improve the lives of all Marylanders.”
The event was held at the Silver Spring Civic Center and was organized by Maryland progressive advocacy groups led by the Takoma Park Mobilization.
