Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Since he formally took office as President of the United States, we have had a flavour of the new White House policy under Mr. Donald Trump. Yesterday, he signed executive orders to build a wall along the US border with Mexico and to crack down on cities which shield undocumented immigrants. Late last night, in a flagrant disregard for all international human rights protocols, the President said that torture works. It is extremely worrying that some of the most dangerous and divisive rhetoric heard during the US election campaign is now being followed through with actions.

Let us be clear. It is not for us here to judge who the US people choose as their President. That is the prerogative of American citizens. They have made their choice and we respect that but we can and should voice our concerns when there is a blatant disregard for all generally acceptable political behaviour. As a party of equality, Sinn Féin has no truck with misogyny, racism or homophobia.

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