‘Poorly Attended’: Ocasio-Cortez Slams ‘Salute to America’ Celebration with Mistruths

SUSAN WALSH/AFP/Getty Images
SUSAN WALSH/AFP/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) questioned why the Trump administration chose to hold a patriotic “Salute to America” celebration in the nation’s capital Thursday when migrant kids on the border, she suggested, do not have access to toothpaste or soap. She also described the successful event as “poorly attended.”

“Trump spent millions on a poorly attended, 1 day parade days after saying he couldn’t afford toothpaste & soap for caged children,” she tweeted Friday, adding that Trump is holding kids “hostage to secure billions for their abusers:”

There are a number of mistruths in the freshman lawmaker’s tweets. Migrants in U.S. custody have access to basic hygienic products. U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Arizona released a video of chief patrol agent Roy Villareal debunking many of Ocasio-Cortez’s past claims. Feminine hygiene products, clothes, water, toothbrushes pre-loaded with toothpaste, formula, and diapers are readily available to those who need them:

Even Ocasio-Cortez admitted this week that migrants are given shampoo:

Additionally, the “Salute to America” celebration was not “poorly attended,” despite the less than ideal weather. Pictures show the crowd extending all the way to the Washington Monument:

President Trump delivered his non-partisan Independence Day speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, taking viewers through key examples of American greatness with demonstrations from the United States armed forces.

“Our nation’s creativity and genius lit up the lights of Broadway and the sound stages of Hollywood,” Trump said. “It filled the concert halls and airwaves around the world with the sound of jazz, opera, country, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues.”

“It gave birth to the musical, the motion picture, the western, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the skyscraper, the suspension bridge, the assembly line, and the mighty American automobile,” he continued.

“It led our citizens to push the bounds of medicine and science to save the lives of millions,” he added.

The celebration featured seven flyovers, including the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and a B-2 stealth bomber:

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