At least 26 Democratic lawmakers plan to skip Trump inauguration

(FOX 11) - There are those who have criticized, but a growing number of Democrats are saying they'll boycott the inauguration of Donald J. Trump.

A delegation of Los Angeles area representatives were at the California Endowment in Downtown Los Angeles. Besides the discussion about protecting Obamacare, we wanted to know their plans for Inauguration Day on Friday.

Among those we spoke with were Representatives Karen Bass, Maxine Waters and Ted Lieu, who said they had no intention of going to the swearing-in of the 45th president.

"I do not plan to go to the inauguration," Bass said, while Waters said she would be in Los Angeles.

Lieu told us he didn't want to "normalize him."

"He has made a series of racist, sexist statements and continues to denigrate the men and women of our intelligence agencies," Lieu said. "That's not acceptable."

Waters is very clear about her feelings, saying, "I can't go to a ceremony where I'm looking at a man who talks about grabbing women on their private parts. I cannot go and say that I'm pleased that this man is being elected president when he's talking about breaking up families and building a wall."

Representative Norma Torres, on the other hand, wants to be there. The Inland Empire Representative says she wants the newly sworn-in president to see her.

"When he is there being sworn in I want him to see my brown face," Torres said. "I want him to see the face of an immigrant that came from Guatemala and came to the U.S. and had so much to offer this country."

After the inauguration, can boycotting Democrats work with the new president? House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told me she's not sure there can be a political honeymoon.

"I'm not sure this isn't a shotgun wedding here," Pelosi said.

She calls the peaceful transfer of power "a thrilling experience" and expects we'll get through it just fine. She will be attending and says that as minority leader she has a "responsibility" and a "role" to play which, includes such things as presentations.

"Going or not going to the inauguration is not about working with the next president," Lieu said. "If they have a good idea I'm going to work with them to implement it. If they have a bad idea I'm going to oppose it. But, I'm not going to celebrate the pageantry of hate."

As to the question of giving Trump a chance, Waters says, "No I'm not willing to give him a chance. Is he willing to give us a chance? He defined himself. He's the one who told us who he is. He needs to give himself a chance. It's not on me. It's on him."

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