House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urged Democrats to “Attend With Silent Defiance,” or to Choose Not to Attend at All
As President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, many Democrats and members of the Congressional Black Caucus broadly made clear they would not treat the evening as business as usual.
Some boycotted entirely. Others attended and protested from inside the House chamber. Outside, hundreds gathered on the National Mall for counter programming dubbed the People’s State of the Union.
In the days leading up to the address, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged Democrats to “attend with silent defiance,” or to choose not to attend at all.
Protests Inside the Chamber
While some Democrats stayed away, others staged protests inside.
Texas Congressman Al Green held up a sign reading “Black people aren’t apes,” referencing a racist video posted on Trump’s social media account earlier this month depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Green was escorted out of the chamber. He had also been removed during a prior address for protesting.
As Trump touted his immigration crackdown and criticized sanctuary cities, California Congresswoman Norma Torres held up photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens fatally shot during immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota last month.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who attended with guests she said were directly harmed by federal immigration actions, shouted from the chamber, “You have killed Americans!” as Trump challenged Democrats to stand in support of his immigration enforcement policies.
Earlier in the speech, Trump referred to members of Minnesota’s Somali community as “Somali pirates” while discussing fraud investigations in the state. Omar has long been a frequent target of Trump’s rhetoric.
Ahead of the address, she had warned that the speech would misrepresent the country’s condition.
“We know his speech will be full of lies about how our nation is thriving under his leadership. We know that it is BS,” Omar said. “The truth about the state of the union is this, our country is on life support, and the American people are the ones paying the price.”
Throughout the evening, Trump criticized Democrats for remaining seated and refusing to applaud.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” he said at one point. Minutes later he added, “These people are crazy. I’m telling you, they’re crazy… Democrats are destroying our country.”
Epstein Files and Symbolic Guests
Democrats also used their guest invitations to spotlight issues they argue the administration has mishandled.
More than a dozen Democratic members invited individuals who say they were victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Guests and lawmakers wore pins reading “stand with survivors, release the files,” referencing ongoing controversy surrounding the Justice Department’s partial release of Epstein related documents.
At a press conference before the address, Omar accused the administration of shielding key information.
“The Pedophile Protection Party in chief has instructed his Justice Department to cover up the Epstein file. So far, only half of the Epstein files have been released,” she said.
Midterms & Party Recalibration
According to a recent NPR, PBS News and Marist poll, 57 percent of respondents said the state of the union is not strong. Sixty percent said the country is worse off than it was a year ago, including large majorities of Democrats and independents.
This pushback unfolds as Democrats head into a midterm election year hoping dissatisfaction with the administration could help them regain ground in Congress.
