Senator Sasha Renée Pérez calls out Vice President JD Vance for deleting social media post that recognized the Armenian Genocide
SACRAMENTO – Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) has issued the following statement on Vice President JD Vance deleting a social media post that had correctly recognized the Armenian Genocide:
“As the State Senator who is honored to represent the largest diaspora of Armenians in the state, I am not surprised by the latest insult delivered by the Trump White House. Vice President JD Vance visited and laid a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia. The shameful part occurred when the Vice President deleted a social media post that rightfully recognized this historic atrocity as a genocide— a word President Trump has refused to say. Allowing the truth to be published was apparently too much for this morally weak man even though the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and the California State Senate and Assembly have all recognized the death of 1.5 million people as a genocide.
“Instead, the Trump Administration shamefully insults our proud Armenian American community and Armenians around the world by actively choosing to ignore the truth and cover its eyes to historical facts. When we ignore history, we repeat history. Tragically, Armenians have continued to face atrocities as evidenced by the recent ethnic cleansing in Artsakh.
“The Armenian American community deserves so much better from the President and Vice President. Last year, the President also refused to use the word genocide in the White House statement on the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Later, the President issued a blanket ban to suspend processing immigrant visas for people from Armenia. And we can’t ignore the racially charged video targeting California’s Armenian American community posted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“As a member of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus, I stand with the Armenian American community and condemn the ongoing attacks coming from this White House.”