Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said that President Donald Trump “misused” some of the guests at his speech Tuesday night — including the angel families who lost their loved ones to illegal immigrant crime and the young boy battling brain cancer.
“Pretty awful, and I really did not like the way he used the tragic incidents and the families that were there, who, of course, appreciated, you know, what they think is their president caring about what happened,” Waters said, implying that Trump does not actually care about these individuals.
“You know, to the 12-year-old, and to others who were victims, and we all feel sad and bad for them, but he misused them,” she asserted. “He misused them. And what he did was he focused on them, instead of focusing on the real issues that we’re dealing with.”
🚨Congresswoman Maxine Waters bashes Trump for recognizing the families who lost loved ones due to illegals.
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) March 5, 2025
“He focused on them instead of the real issues we are dealing with.”
EXCUSE ME?
I would say people INVADING our border & murd3ring our citizens is a real issue. pic.twitter.com/ZAqE1IKNHW
It remains unclear how Trump is supposed to have misused these guests, which included the angel mother and sister of Laken Riley and the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray.
During the speech, Trump announced that Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas would be renamed the “Jocelyn Nungaray National Refuge” in her honor.
“The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly,” Trump said. “Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your magnificent daughter, and earlier tonight, I signed an order keeping my word to you.”
Jocelyn Nungaray will never be forgotten.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 5, 2025
Justice for Jocelyn. pic.twitter.com/irhcv75slO
Trump also made dreams come true for DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with brain cancer, making him an honorary member of the United States Secret Service.
“DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service,” he said, prompting Curran to hand a surprised DJ a badge.
Trump Makes Boy with Brain Cancer Honorary Secret Service Agent at Congressional Address
Trump also honored the family of Corey Comperatore, the father and husband who lost his life protecting his family during the assassination attempt on Trump at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last year.
President Trump Commemorates Corey Comperatore and Honors His Family
But Waters remained unhappy. During her stream, she also essentially suggested that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk may have played a role in manipulating the results of the election, stating that they are not giving up on “investigating” this matter.
“And we don’t know everything that Elon Musk has done, with his high technology ass,” Waters, 86, said during a video stream.
“We don’t know what he’s been accused of by some as it may relate to the election,” she continued, implying election malfeasance without offering any evidence or facts to back up that election denial claim.
“But we’re not going to give up in investigating and finding,” she continued.
CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS: We don't know everything Elon Musk has done, with his high-tech-knowledgy-as*. Or what he's been accused of by some as it may relate to the election. But we're not gonna give up on investigating and finding out. pic.twitter.com/POqtJ0GBQ0
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 5, 2025
Rep. Maxine Waters: "Elon Musk with his high-tech ass may have hacked our last election" pic.twitter.com/JlBvb4oAbe
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 5, 2025
BREAKING: Rep. Maxine Waters says Elon Musk used his "high-tech ass" to hack the last election.
— Jack (@jackunheard) March 5, 2025
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/JxiO7U6dMC
Despite her critiques, polling shows that a vast majority of viewers were on Trump’s side and loved the speech.