So the State of the Union address was earlier this week, and as many expected, it was torture. The longest address ever, clocking in at an hour and 48 minutes. Honestly, no one expected anything but lies to come out of Trump’s mouth, but what I didn’t expect was for it to last nearly 2 hours! While Trump went on and on about how great he is making America, Democrats who attended the speech protested in a number of ways.
In the lead-up to the event, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attempted to prevent a scandal as he urged Democrats to either “attend in silent defiance” or not attend at all. But those who attended would make their voices heard.
Right at the beginning of the speech, Texas Representative Al Green could be seen holding a sign that read “Black people aren’t apes”, referencing the racist video posted by the president to social media earlier this month, which depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Green was quickly escorted out of the chamber.
Norma Torres, a representative from California, was seen holding up photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti as Trump spoke about immigration enforcement. Good and Pretti were killed by ICE officers last month in Minneapolis, despite both being US citizens. Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar also started shouting “You have killed Americans” at Trump as he praised the work of ICE. Omar and Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib consistently called Trump a “liar” throughout the address.
Many of the Democrats wore “Anti-Trump” pins, with messages such as “Liar, Liar”, “F**k ICE”, and “Stand with survivors. Release the files.” Some of Epstein’s victims were invited to attend as a demonstration of protest, showing that the Trump administration cannot sweep the files under the rug. Many of the women wore all-white outfits as a tribute to honor women’s suffrage, a tradition they started during Trump’s first term. Throughout the speech, Democrats refused to stand and clap.
This display of resistance clearly upset Trump, who called them out, saying, “You should be ashamed of yourselves”. Republicans, on the other hand, had a serious workout with all the standing and clapping they performed. But they are used to hand workouts, with all the patting each other on the back they do… among other things.
While this was all happening inside the House during Trump’s speech, other Democrats had already started their protest event on the National Mall, called the “People’s State of the Union”. Large crowds formed to protest, carrying signs and shouting “Abolish ICE”. Many attendants also gave speeches, including democratic leaders, Epstein survivors, and families impacted by immigration enforcement.
All of these actions of resistance against Trump and his administration seemed to succeed at pissing Trump off. The following day, Trump made multiple social media posts, calling out those whom he believed had disrespected him, including Omar, Tlaib, and even actor Robert De Niro, who had appeared on MS NOW on Tuesday and told Americans to “resist” Trump. While none of Trump’s reactions are surprising in the least, it was nice to see Democratic lawmakers take an active stand against his lies.
