U.S. President Donald Trump commemorated the 400th anniversary of the first legislative assembly in Jamestown, Virginia, on Tuesday, amid a boycott by African-American legislators in the state over recent remarks critics have deemed as racist.
"It's a tremendous honor to stand on these historic grounds as the first president to address a joint session of the oldest lawmaking body in all of the Western Hemisphere, the Virginia General Assembly," the president said. "On this day, 400 years ago, here on the shores of the James River, the first Representative Legislative Assembly in the New World convened. By the devotion of generations of patriots, it has flourished throughout the ages. And now that proud tradition continues with all of you."
In his remarks, the president also referenced the connection between Jamestown and the slave trade.
"It was the beginning of a barbaric trade in human lives," he said. "We remember every sacred soul who suffered the horrors of slavery and the anguish of bondage."
During the president's speech, a protester held up a sign reading "Deport Hate."
"Mr. President, you cannot send us back. Virginia is our home," the protester said. Trump did not address the man, who was escorted out.
Virginia Del. Ibraheem Samirah, D-Fairfax, is escorted out after interrupting President Donald Trump as he spoke at an event marking the 400th anniversary of the first representative assembly, July 29, 2019, in Jamestown, Va.
Democratic lawmakers from Virginia boycotted the president's remarks on Tuesday, as backlash grows over the president's attacks on some lawmakers of color.
"We will not be attending any part of the commemorative session where Donald Trump is in attendance. The current President does not represent the values that we would celebrate at the 400th anniversary of the oldest democratic body in the western world. We offer just three words of advice to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation: Send Him Back,'" wrote the Democrat leaders.
In another statement, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus also pledged to boycott the event.
"It is impossible to ignore the emblem of hate and disdain that the president represents," the caucus said in a statement. The group also referenced attacks by the president on lawmakers of color in their reason for boycotting the event.
Earlier this month, the president came under fire for tweeting at four Democratic congresswomen of color that they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
More recently, he criticized Representative Elijah Cummings' district in Baltimore as "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."
Many Democratic lawmakers have characterized Trump's comments as racist. Earlier in the day, Trump said he is the "least racist person" in the world.
Earlier this year, some of Virginia's top Democratic lawmakers found themselves mired in their own racial controversy.
In February, photos from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook surfaced. On the governor's page was, among other images, a photo of two men, one in a Ku Klux Klan robe, and another in blackface. While it was not confirmed if either man was Northam, Northam did admit to darkening his skin tone in the past.
Virginia's Attorney General Mark Herring also admitted to having donned blackface in the past.
Separately, Virginia's lieutenant governor was accused by two women of sexual assault. He denies the allegations.