AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org.

We end today’s show with New Jersey Democratic Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, a member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committee. She attended President Trump’s address Tuesday night with a guest, Dr. Adam Hamawy, a reconstructive surgeon and Army veteran who recently volunteered in Gaza. He also provided lifesaving care to now-Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois when she was wounded in the Iraq War in 2004, had her legs blown off. President Trump did not address the devastation in Gaza during his address but promised to bring peace and prosperity to the region.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: In the Middle East, we’re bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations, the Abraham Accords. And now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region.

AMY GOODMAN: President Trump didn’t mention Palestinians. But we’re joined right now by Congresswoman Bonnie Coleman, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Dr. Adam Hamawy.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Congresswoman, it’s great to have you back. We had you on last when Trump was president before. If you can talk about why you invited Adam, Dr. Hamawy, and your response overall to Trump’s address?

REP. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN: Well, I invited Dr. Hamawy because he has been such a humanitarian in this space. And I thought that with all of the distractions, with the millions of equal — EOs that the president was putting out and the proposals and the DOGE and the distraction from this and distraction from that, that the whole issue of Gaza, with the exception of the president wanting to make it a spa for millionaires, was being overlooked at a time when the infrastructure is absolutely devastated, the people are devastated — they’re hungry, they’re in need of so much, including a place to live, a place to educate, and hospitals to take care of their needs — that we should not allow this administration to get away with not saying anything that is helpful to the Palestinian people who live in that area.

Now, with regard to the president’s speech in general, I was more taken back by the fact that he didn’t talk about important things that bring down the cost of living for Americans. He didn’t talk about ensuring that they had their Medicaid. He didn’t talk about their having access to education, other than as it related to transsexuals and things of that nature. He harped on those things that are most divisive. He harped on those things that create a greater division among us. And he spoke to half-truths in the majority of his speech. It was probably the longest speech and one of the worst speeches I’ve ever heard from a president to the joint House. And it was kind of sickening, actually, to have to keep reminding people of his false statements or the fact that he’s ignoring the issues that are important to Americans, which have to do with their — what happens under their roofs, in their kitchens, in their bedrooms, in their bathrooms, access to healthcare, education, housing. All of those things are important and necessary to our citizens. And he just spent his time creating greater division, talking about the border, trying to create another group of people to hate in the transgenders. He comes from a very negative perspective, and he comes from a very untruthful perspective. And it’s quite disgusting to see that and to experience that out of the president of the United States.

And finally, there’s nothing that he’s doing to create peace in either Ukraine or in Gaza. And we need to hold him accountable. Our safety and security is impacted by how we treat our allies and how we treat those who are least among us. And he doesn’t seem to care. He seems to care about bowing down to Putin and being a lapdog for Elon Musk, who’s just about stealing and making more money from government. So, to me, last night was disgusting.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I’d like to bring in Dr. Hamawy. Could you talk about how little Trump — you’ve been in many war zones as a doctor, and you’ve never seen the kind of destruction you saw in Gaza, yet Trump hardly mentioned the war that has stunned the world for the last year and a half.

DR. ADAM HAMAWY: Well, you know, he kind of skirted the issue. He touts that he’s being a peacemaker, yet at the same time he’s talking about ethnic cleansing in Gaza. He didn’t mention at all that yesterday that Israel is breaking the ceasefire currently. It’s basically stopped all humanitarian aid. There was multiple drone strikes yesterday. So, that wasn’t mentioned at all. So, when he talks about making peace, it doesn’t seem like he actually follows through with it. All he does is, you know, again, looking for his own benefit. And I don’t think much has changed from what was previously there in place. I mean, the situation is still horrible. There’s still a tremendous amount of devastation that we have caused there. We are still supplying bombs to Israel. So, when we talk about cutting off aid to the Ukraine, we’re still spending Americans’ money for bombs for killing children in Gaza, and now in the West Bank, as well. None of that was mentioned at all.

AMY GOODMAN: In this last minute we have, Dr. Hamawy, you’ve talked about the devastation of the impact of the cuts to USAID, and also Dr. Abu Safiya, who headed Kamal Adwan, the pediatrician, who is still being held by Israel. Any thoughts or do you know about his whereabouts?

DR. ADAM HAMAWY: I don’t know about his whereabouts. And, you know, he is, again, an example of the arbitrary way that they take prisoners and hold them hostage without any proper care at all. They have no concern for international law. They’ve been targeting doctors and nurses since the beginning of the war. Over 500 healthcare workers have been killed or been taken prisoner since the start of this. So, a complete disregard for any international norms or rules of war. And with the prisoner exchanges that were supposed to happen, multiple times they stated that they would probably release them, but that has not come through. And, you know —

AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to have to leave it there, but I want to thank you for being with us, and, of course, we’ll continue to cover this issue, as we do every day. Dr. Adam Hamawy, a reconstructive surgeon and Army veteran who volunteered in Gaza, and New Jersey Democratic Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, they both attended President Trump’s joint session address. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.