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Democrats pushed back against President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, with some lawmakers boycotting the speech, attending counter-programming or mounting a small number of protests from within the House chamber.
In the lead-up to the address, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged Democrats to “attend with silent defiance,” or choose not to attend. However, Trump repeatedly sparred with seated Democrats as some interrupted or refused to applaud during his address.
The pushback comes as Democrats enter a midterm year where they hope political headwinds can help them make gains in the House and Senate. In the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, 57% of respondents said the state of the union is not strong, including 8 in 10 Democrats and about two-thirds of independents. Sixty percent said the country is worse off than it was a year ago, including about two-thirds of independents and 9 in 10 Democrats.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers skipped Trump’s speech, with some addressing a few hundred protesters who congregated on the National Mall for a counter-event dubbed the “People’s State of the Union.” A number of others walked out as Trump delivered his remarks.
At the start of Tuesday’s address, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas., held up a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes,” — a reference to the racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes that was posted on Trump’s social media account earlier this month. Green was then escorted out of the chamber.
Green was also removed from the chamber last year for protesting Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.
Other protests came as Trump touted his immigration crackdown and criticized liberal cities designated as sanctuary jurisdictions. Democratic Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., could be seen holding up photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the two U.S. citizens killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis last month. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, also shouted, “you have killed Americans” as Trump discussed his immigration enforcement.
Throughout his remarks, President Trump criticized Democratic lawmakers for refusing to stand and clap as he ticked through his agenda, telling them, “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“These people are crazy. I’m telling you, they’re crazy,” Trump said minutes later, remarking again that Democrats were not standing up and applauding, prompting more shouts from the crowd. “We’re lucky we have a country with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country,” he added.
Democrats also invited over a dozen individuals to the State of the Union who say they were victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with guests and lawmakers wearing pins that read, “stand with survivors, release the files.” It comes as the administration continues to face pressure over its handling of information about Epstein and his network, including some from Republicans.
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