U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo speak out at Indivisible RI’s Fight Back and Give Back rally
"Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing this to make themselves richer because no money is enough to fill the hole these little men have inside them..."
On Saturday, between two and four thousand people joined Indivisible Rhode Island and other advocacy groups on the south steps of the Rhode Island State House in protest “against the lawless billionaires that are defying the constitution and ignoring a United States District Court ruling in Rhode Island.” Among the speakers were United States Representatives Seth Magaziner (Democrat, District 1, Rhode Island) and Gabe Amo ((Democrat, District 2, Rhode Island). There’s a full post coming out about the rally, but here’s the video and transcription (edited for clarity) of the Representatives.
Seth Magaziner: We are here today because we believe in an America for the people, not just the billionaires. We are here because we believe in a democratic America where no one is above the law, an America where we do not have a king and an America where everyone has a fighting chance.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk see the world differently. They don’t think it’s their job to serve the people. They think the people should serve them. That is why, as we speak, they are looting the treasury. That is why they are having their army of creepy interns go through all of our private data. They are doing this to make themselves richer because no money is enough to fill the hole these little men have inside them.
That’s what it all comes down to. Every time you read a headline, understand that everything they do is to make themselves richer. When they are firing people who work at the Veterans Administration, the Forest Service, the people who safeguard our nuclear weapons, the people who work at the Veterans Crisis hotline, or Federal Aviation Administration workers, they are doing it to pay for even more tax cuts for billionaires. When Republicans in Congress put forward a budget that will cut billions of dollars from Medicaid, shut down community health centers, shut down nursing homes, and eliminate the Department of Education, they are doing it to pay for more tax cuts for billionaires.
When all around the world, they are siding with dictators and gangsters like Vladimir Putin and turning their backs on democracies; they are doing it to make the conditions for more tax cuts for billionaires. When they undermine our democracy by pardoning January 6th Rrioters who attacked police officers and threatened to imprison journalists, they are doing it because they want power for more tax cuts for billionaires. That is what this all is about. It is a money grab from working people for the billionaires.
All across the country, my Republican colleagues are canceling their town halls. They are locking their offices because they do not want to face their constituents. As one of your members of Congress from Rhode Island, I am here today to say that I will fight with every tool at my disposal against what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing. As your representative, I will fight for our democracy, healthcare, veterans, education, freedom of the press, and democracy - because our lives depend on it.
But I have a question for all of you. Are you ready to fight, too?
Audience: Yes!
Seth Magaziner: Because here’s the thing: Democracy is not a spectator sport. It takes all of us. Never in the history of the world has a democratic movement succeeded from the top down. It takes everybody working together and waking up daily, saying, "What am I going to do today to save our country?"
There is no task too big or too small because all of us together have a role to play in beating Elon Musk and Donald Trump in their effort to rob us of our democracy. Let’s get to work.
Gabe Amo: This is a powerful sight. This is democracy in action.
I wasn’t feeling so well just a few minutes ago. I said, “I don’t know if I can make it. I don’t know if my voice is going to do it,” but I am so glad I’m here because, as you just heard my great colleague from the second District say, we are in this together.
I know it’s been a heavy moment. For the past thirty-plus days, we have experienced an onslaught on our values and the things we believe in. They have defied norms, rules, and what we are in this country. We’ve seen a government work against us. Amidst the bird flu - firing people from the Food and Drug Administration, and where we have this powerful nuclear arsenal - firing the people who would monitor it.
When you look at the Department of Treasury, these 19-year-olds, who should be spending their time on TikTok, are in the guts of the system that gives our seniors Social Security. That’s wrong.
Audience: Shame! Shame! Shame!
Gabe Amo: I had the honor and privilege of working for two Presidents of the United States. Now, I see the Oval Office being used as a tool for the empowerment and enrichment of a few and for ensuring that dictators around the world have more power than the American people.
Audience: What are you doing?
Gabe Amo: I’ll get to that. I’ll answer directly.
Seth and I work in the United States Congress, where we have seen our Republican colleagues abdicate responsibility. They have said, “Do whatever you want, Mr. President. We’re going to sit back and rubber stamp.”
That’s not normal.
I know people are afraid. I know people ask, “What are the people I’m sending to Washington doing?”
Audience: It’s time for hardball!
Gabe Amo: It is time for hardball.
We have a looming deadline on March 14th to keep the government open. They have only been able to keep the government open because of Democratic votes. And I’m telling you that unless they stop this madness, they are not getting the vote out of me.
[Audience cheers]
Gabe Amo: The basic functioning of government is essential, but what is even more essential is that we do not let our government destroy the fabric of our country. We have work to do. Those of us who are elected are part of the solution, but we are not the whole solution. I’m the part that will exercise my voting privileges in Washington to represent Rhode Island. That is my commitment today, you see because I’m not going to duck anybody yelling at me.
On the Internet and conservative talk radio this week, they want to send people at me to tell me that I’m lying. But we must lead with facts and not fear. We must lead with truth over lies; everything we have seen come out of this White House - out of the Trump/Musk Administration - has been about lies.
So what’s going to happen this week? You’re going to see them advance a plan to cut Medicaid. That is not me trying to drive fear. That is the truth. I sat in a House Budget Committee for 12 hours and I saw my Republican colleagues defend tax cuts of at least $4.5 trillion for billionaires, over and over again, so they could cut Medicaid and SNAP Benefits.
Audience: Tax the rich! Tax the rich! Tax the rich!
Gabe Amo: So we will stand up and work as aggressively as possible to ensure this plan does not move forward. But this is just one round in this battle. We have to stay in this together. We are powerful. Do not fall into the trap of feeling like you are powerless. This assembly of people demonstrates that power, but we have to keep doing it. We should not expect some superhero to come from on high. In our back pockets, we all have capes. We have to put them on. We have to be the superhero in this story. We have to continue to work together for our communities.
I know it will be tough, and I want to be clear and serious about this: It’s not going to be a few rallies that change this. It’s not going to be a single election. It won’t be a single call you make to an office. There has to be consistent advocacy in this movement. That is how we make progress.
That is a tough pill to swallow, but I know that we are in this together, and I will do everything in my power as a member of Congress from Rhode Island and everything in my power as someone who is part of this community to work together with you to stop Trump and Musk from their seizure of our country, values, and future.
I have a question for you: Are we in this together?
Audience: Yes!
Gabe Amo: Let’s hang tough. I know we have brighter days ahead, but we must keep fighting.