Nicolas O’Rourke introduced himself to a national audience Thursday night as he delivered the Working Families Party’s official response to President Biden’s State of the Union address.
“Each year, WFP selects one leader to give our perspective on the State of the Union. Tonight, that voice is mine,” O’Rourke said as he started his nearly 20 minute response.
“Philadelphians, including WFP voters, helped put Joe Biden in office in 2020. Tonight, we have a message for the President: Together we built a record of delivering resources and opportunities for working people and communities. But, that work is not only unfinished. It is imperiled,” he said.
“Wars in Palestine and Trump-era immigration policies are out of step with our values and endangering the coalition that elected you. The coalition you need to come together again. But, here is the good news: there’s still time for you to unite that coalition — if you heed the calls from the people.”
O’Rourke was part of a historic win for the WFP in Philly in November, joining fellow WFP member Kendra Brooks on Council, leaving Republicans without an at-large member for the first time in modern history.
In his rebuttal, he also spoke specifically about issues affecting Philadelphia.
“I speak with urgency because my city’s needs are urgent,” he said. “The tolls of poverty land the hardest on children. Our kids can’t breathe. Air pollution has given 21% of Philly kids asthma, almost four times the national rate. Our murder rate has dropped since the pandemic, but violence still claimed the lives of more than four-hundred Philadelphians last year – and terrible shootings just this week.”
While the WFP is much more closely aligned with Democrats than Republicans, there has been friction between Dems and WFP members, both locally and nationally. Last month, Philly Democratic ward volunteers were bounced from their positions after backing WFP candidates in the November election. That rift has raised questions over whether President Biden’s chances in Pennsylvania could be harmed if WFP backers sit out, or even just don’t push for the Democratic candidate with the same vigor.
“You know, it remains to be seen who the WFP ultimately does endorse in the race. But I can guarantee you it won’t be Donald John Trump,” O’Rourke told WHYY’s Studio 2 on Thursday before the SOTU.
Two key issues highlight the rift between Biden’s administration and the WFP: immigration and the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
“A cease fire is the least that I think we need,” O’Rourke said Thursday afternoon. “That’s not something for us that we even think should be considered as controversial. It’s a call for peace.”
