Boycotters include Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, whose state has been plagued by immigration attacks, and Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose El Paso area was subject to an abrupt air travel freeze.
Democrats react to President Trump’s speech to Congress
Sen. Elissa Slotkin gave the Democratic Party’s official response to President Donald Trump’s speech, but other Democrats also responded in their own ways.
WASHINGTON – In another sign of bipartisan decline, prominent Democratic politicians are planning a mass boycott of President Donald Trump’s first official State of the Union address of his second term.
Refusing to “legitimize” the Feb. 24 speech, the 12 senators said they would skip the speech and instead hold a rally they called a “State of the Union” on the National Mall. The list of Democrats includes five senators and seven representatives. Meidas Touch and Move on Civic Action, the progressive organizations organizing the event, announced that additional guests will be announced on February 18th.
The scale of the undercover program marks a departure from the typical Democratic response to such situations. Although they have loudly protested President Trump’s past speeches to Congress (former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even tore up copies of the speeches), it is customary for most members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to attend the State of the Union.
The other party then counters that the TV station broadcast it immediately after the president’s speech. It’s a long-standing bipartisan tradition to sit through speeches, regardless of lawmakers’ issues with who occupies the Oval Office.
But this year is different, according to Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut. The potential 2028 presidential candidate said in a statement that Trump has repeatedly “ridiculed” these speeches and “taken a moment that should have united our country and turned it into a campaign spewing hate and division.”
“These are not normal times, and attending this speech would be a veneer of legitimacy for the corruption and malfeasance that defined his second term,” Murphy said.
Boycotters include Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, whose state has been troubled by attacks on immigrants and the murders of Alex Preti and Renee Nicole Goode, and Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose El Paso area was recently hit with a sudden airspace freeze.
Other senators not attending the speech are Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
Other House members not in attendance are Yasamine Ansari of Arizona, Becca Balint of Vermont, Greg Casar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey.
The White House announced that the State of the Union address will go ahead as scheduled, despite a funding impasse in Congress that will likely continue a partial government shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach me by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
