How Democrats Are Planning to Protest Trump’s State of the Union

A number of Democratic lawmakers are planning to protest President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

While Trump delivers the highly anticipated annual speech, which will be the first State of the Union address of his second term, some Democrats have pledged to instead attend counterprogramming events. Several more have spoken out in opposition to the upcoming speech, or plan to attend but demonstrate resistance to the President in other ways.

Democrats made various shows of protest when Trump last spoke before a joint session of Congress last March. Some walked out before the 100-minute address ended, or skipped it entirely. Others wore pink in an act of defiance or waved paddles bearing messages such as “Save Medicaid” and “False” during his remarks. On several occasions, Democrats audibly booed or audibly pushed back on Trump’s comments. Rep. Al Green of Texas was ejected from the chamber for interrupting the speech.

This year, Democratic lawmakers are looking to take a different—and perhaps somewhat more cohesive—approach. 

The upcoming State of the Union address, which Trump is set to deliver at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, comes as Democrats and the White House are locked in a standoff over immigration enforcement that has caused an indefinite shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, and as the President faces mounting disapproval from voters over his mass deportation campaign and broader policy agenda. Many Democrats are determined to use the annual event to demonstrate their opposition to Trump.

Read more: Trump to Deliver State of the Union Amid Low Polls and Deep Divisions

Rather than disrupting the speech, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has advised lawmakers to either attend the address in “silent defiance” or skip it, according to sources familiar with his comments who spoke to Axios. Several of the lawmakers opting to boycott Trump’s remarks will deliver their own at events set to take place at the same time as the speech.

Rep. Ami Bera of California wrote in progressive media outlet MeidasTouch, which is coordinating the counterprogramming event along with left-wing advocacy group MoveOn, that despite feeling an “obligation” to attend the address as a senior House member, “this year I feel different.”

“After watching President Trump run roughshod over the Constitution, display utter disregard for Congress, and openly engage in corruption as he and his family use the office to enrich themselves and tarnish this country that I love, I will not give him the dignity of having my presence at the State of the Union,” Bera wrote. 

Here’s what to know about Democrats’ plans.

Counterprogramming events

A rally called the “People’s State of the Union” will take place during Trump’s address on Tuesday. 

At the counterprogramming event, multiple Democratic lawmakers are planning to speak alongside people who have been negatively impacted by Trump’s policies, such as federal workers who lost their jobs and people targeted in the President’s immigration crackdown. The event will be hosted by television host Joy Reid and political commentator Katie Phang. 

“President Trump has spent the first year of his administration making all of our lives worse: slashing health care, sending masked ICE agents to terrorize our neighbors, and passing tax cuts for the Epstein class. Trump wants the attention and the ratings, but we cannot treat this year’s State of the Union like business as usual,” MoveOn chief of program Sara Haghdoosti said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the event. “That’s why MoveOn is hosting the People’s State of the Union, where we will hear directly from the people facing the consequences of Trump’s disastrous administration.”

According to MoveOn, the members of Congress planning to attend the rally include Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, along with Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Becca Balint of Vermont, Greg Casar of Texas, Veronica Escobar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey.

Read more: How to Watch Trump’s State of the Union—and the Democratic and Progressive Responses

“The State of the Union should be a reckoning with reality, but Donald Trump will use it to spin fiction and normalize the gross abuse of power,” said Markey in a statement shared by the rally’s organizers. “He will claim everything is fine while families struggle to afford health care and housing, immigrant communities live in fear, and his billionaire allies loot the country under the cover of chaos – I will not legitimize those lies.”

Markey later announced that La Colaborativa President and CEO Gladys Vega, whose organization serves Latino immigrants in the greater Boston area, will be his guest to the “People’s State of a Union” event. “Gladys Vega embodies the type of leadership we need at this moment—community-focused, strategic, energetic, and filled with empathy,” Markey said.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts also announced that she would be participating in the rally, saying she would highlight the stories of four children “detained and traumatized by ICE as honorary guests.”

“A childhood should be a right, not a privilege. But this White House has ripped parents away from children, deported families with vulnerable infants, and imprisoned hundreds of children in Texas,” Pressley said in a statement. “I will continue to use every tool I have to fight for their freedom and safety, to fight for their dignity and their childhoods.”

More guests are to be announced before the event, per the organizers. 

Another counterprogramming event called “State of the Swamp: The Rebuttal to the State of the Union” is also set to take place Tuesday evening. The event, hosted by DEFIANCE.org, activist group Portland Frog Brigade, and the progressive media company COURIER, will begin at 7 p.m. ET at the National Press Club. It will also be livestreamed.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson—staunch and vocal Trump opponents whose cities have faced aggressive immigration crackdowns under his second Administration––will give unofficial responses to the President’s address at the event alongside other lawmakers, celebrities, and media personalities including former CNN hosts Don Lemon and Jim Acosta, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, and actor Robert De Niro.

"We're not going to listen to the lies," DEFIANCE.org co-founder Miles Taylor said in a statement. "We will be speaking over Donald Trump the entire time – and we will be amplifying the voices he's tried to silence. He's made a foolish miscalculation. By coming after us, he's made us stronger. But I wouldn't have expected him to crack a history book to learn that lesson."

Frey added in a statement included in a release from DEFIANCE.org that “there are moments in our country’s history when leadership is measured not by party loyalty, but by moral clarity. This is one of those moments.” 

“Donald Trump's vision for America runs counter to the hopes and aspirations of the working people who wake up every single day and make our cities run,” Johnson said. “Our convictions, hope, and love for people will never waver, we will not allow the threats posed by this administration to stand in the way of work building truly safe and affordable cities."

The lawmakers expected to be at the event include Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Dan Goldman of New York, and Euegene Vindman of Virginia, along with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon.  

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson criticized Democrats’ plans to boycott Trump’s speech in a statement to TIME.

“Every Democrat in Congress tried to pass a $4 trillion dollar tax hike and voted against the working and middle class tax cuts the American people are seeing right now in their refunds. Democrats all voted against securing the border and deporting criminal illegals. Democrats all voted against modernizing our military. The list goes on. It’s not a surprise that they refuse to celebrate and honor the Americans who have benefitted from the commonsense policies Republicans have governed with,” Jackson said.

What other Democrats are planning

Several Democrats have invited victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Trump’s speech on Tuesday night, whether or not they’ll be in attendance themselves.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York have both announced their plans to host Epstein survivors at the State of the Union address, along with at least half a dozen other Democrats. 

Schumer said he would bring Dani Bensky, who has accused Epstein of abusing her after she met him at the age of 17. Bensky called for the full release of government files related to the disgraced financier in a statement included in a press release from Schumer’s office. 

“My survivor sisters and I have been fighting for transparency and accountability. Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls us a hoax, the laws of the Transparency Act have been broken, and we have had personal identifying information exposed. Trump and his DOJ continue to coverup and protect perpetrators. We need to release of all files,” Bensky said.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who coauthored a law requiring that the Department of Justice make all files related to Epstein public, said he was bringing Haley Robson, an Epstein victim who has been an outspoken advocate for the release of the documents. 

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia have invited Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein victim who died by suicide in April.

Other Democrats who are planning to attend counterprogramming events during Trump’s speech, including Jayapal and Rep. Maxine Dexter of Oregon, have invited Epstein survivors to go to the State of the Union address in their place.

Read more: Democrats Plan to Bring Epstein Survivors to Trump’s State of the Union

Some Democratic lawmakers also intend to bring people who have been impacted by Trump’s policies as guests to the speech as a form of protest. 

Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin told The Hill in an emailed statement that she would be bringing someone “who is a small business owner of a nonprofit daycare and advocate for the Affordable Care Act.”

“With the address likely to be divisive, I believe it’s important to have a guest in the room who has the pulse of what the American people really care about: affordable childcare and healthcare for all,” she said.

A spokesperson for Rep. Jennifer McClellan of Virginia also said that “she will be bringing a guest who can speak to how their disastrous policies have made it harder for him and his family to make ends meet as they face an active health care crisis.”

Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin has invited Wisconsin ⁠Soybean Association President Doug Rebout, who has in the past given voice to grievances with Trump policies affecting soybean farmers. 

Other Democrats plan to attend the speech but walk out before it’s over.

Rep. Jared Huffman of California told Axios, “The only question for me is which of his disgusting lines prompts me to get up and leave, because at some point I will.”

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon announced that they would be co-hosting an online live town hall, called “People’s Town Hall,” at 2:30 p.m. PT, which a press release states will allow “all Oregonians the opportunity to ask questions as well as share their ideas and viewpoints.”

“Sitting through Donald Trump’s unhinged ramblings about his unconstitutional schemes does nothing to help Oregonians justifiably concerned about his attacks on the economy and the law as well as his desperate diversions from the Epstein investigation,” Wyden said. “Rather than hearing a so-called State of the Union from a self-absorbed liar, I’ll hear the truth from my fellow Oregonians in the best state of the union.”

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, in contrast with other members of his party, said that he feels obliged to be at Trump’s address.

“I understand people who don’t want to be there. This guy is violating the constitutional rights of Americans,” Kelly, who has been targeted by the Trump Administration for participating in a video that urged troops to refuse to carry out illegal orders, told Semafor. “This guy thought I would be in jail … I feel it’s my obligation to be there,” he added.

Jeffries told reporters last week that he intends to be at the State of the Union address.

"We’re not going to his house. He’s coming to our house, and it’s the people’s house," Jeffries said. "And having grown up where I grew up, you never let anyone run you off your block.”