Almost from the moment Trump entered the House chamber Tuesday night to deliver his State of the Union address, Democrats began to disrupt. It only deteriorated from there.
Why it matters: It’s the new normal for presidential speeches to Congress, with Republicans heckling Democratic presidents and vice versa.
Tuesday’s disruptions came despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) repeatedly telling his members behind closed doors not to repeat the widespread disruptions that Trump faced last year during his speech to a joint session of Congress. Ahead of Tuesday’s speech, Jeffries sternly dismissed Axios’ reporting that protests were still likely to occur despite his instructions to the contrary. A Jeffries spokesperson did not immediately respond on Tuesday night to a request for comment. What happened: As Trump entered the chamber, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who was notoriously escorted out of Trump’s address last year for repeated heckling, mounted yet another protest.
Green held up a sign reading “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES” — a reference to a racist video Trump’s account posted this month. Green refused to sit as Trump began his speech. Several Republicans verbally confronted Green, with a few trying to wrench the sign out of Green’s hands. Eventually, Green was escorted out of the chamber by a House sergeant-at-arms staffer. Zoom in: The broader heckling began in earnest shortly after Trump goaded Democrats by pointing out they didn’t applaud a line about banning gender transition surgery for minors.
“Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I’m telling you, they’re crazy,” Trump said. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) began to heckle, yelling “lies!” and — when Trump began to discuss immigration — “you’re killing Americans.” Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who were sitting next to each other, repeatedly heckled Trump, shouting over lines about immigration, crime and foreign policy. Between the lines: At one point in the speech, Tlaib yelled at Trump, “How are those Epstein files? How are those Epstein files? Release them! … Release the Epstein files!”
Good. He’s an authoritarian who had his paramilitary goons invade an American city. All you achieve by going to the State of the Union and listening politely is the normalization of fascism. Only deeply unserious people who are incapable of meeting this moment would consider attending without disrupting him.
Well said. I wish they’d ALL used this excellent opportunity to protest.
And frankly, Rep. Green is the only one I ALWAYS see doing the right thing, and usually doing it alone. For example, when there are articles of impeachment brought against the worst of Trump’s excesses, Al Green is behind them, even though they never come to a vote because the rest of Congress acts to suppress them. Last night was no different. As an individual representative, he keeps on doing the right thing, regardless.
Green should NOT have been the only one carrying that sign. There should have been more just like it, and an entire room full of signs. (While any signage at SotU is not permitted, Green very clearly brought in his sign folded in half under his jacket, something anyone could have joined him in doing.) Those opposed to the current regime ALL had an opportunity to do a great thing, and they passed on it.
“if they go low, we go high” only helps so much as if the public and the other side is concerned about their reputation. so democrat leadership telling fellow democrats to maintan the high ground is so much of an outdated concept in today’s landscape that you could even call that unrealistic and spineless. One has to fight for their voices to be heard. It was the same in the weimar republic before nazi germany. Where the communist party KPD helped Adolf get elected as chancellor. Not so much surprising, shortly thereafter they were all imprisoned. Let the american democrats hear that lesson from history.
I say we reinstate duels.
Everybody who has a grievance with Trump could just take it up on the dueling ground.
And he’s not allowed to stop until everyone gets their shot.
No champions (unless they are in the order of presidential succession). Flintlock only.
Oh, I can see it now.
- Upon the passing of the new Dueling Act, Trump immediately demands a duel with Obama to prove that he’s the better president.
- After some threats and such, Obama reluctantly agrees to the duel, since he figures he won’t be around much longer anyway.
- Trump decides to stack the deck in his favor by posting some Secret Service snipers just outside of the duel. They have orders to shoot Obama just before the duel begins.
- Instead of doing as ordered, one of the snipers shoot Trump instead.
Learn from history??? The Americans??? Oooooh, I have some bad news for you. Most Americans can’t read.
Your comment looks mean. What’s it say?
Hey the average American can read…at a sixth grade level.
What exactly constitutes a 6th grade level of reading ability? Goosebumps? Hatchet? Hunger Games? Dr. Seuss?
They can analyze and identify the author’s purpose. Just that analysis is usually superficial. Like reading 1984 they’d be “BIG GOVERNMENT BAD!” where as you and I would take away that an authoritarian government will always turn into a surveillance state that maintains external conflict to ignore internal realities within. As well maintaining a strict social structure with downwards mobility but very little upwards.
In the defense of at least myself, I’m too much of a scatterbrained autist to properly articulate such an idea most of the time even if I have wholly absorbed and applied an idea into action. Other times I’m fucking braindead and don’t know how to take the chain off of a chainsaw because the useless fucking manual just says to do it like I’m supposed to fucken know.
That party doesn’t have any leaders.
Green held up a sign reading “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES” — a reference to a racist video Trump’s account posted this month.
Honestly, I had no idea trjmp called black people apes recently. I saw the sign, and it really didn’t even need explaination. Sign could have been made 6 years ago, and everyone would still get it.
I think this was the (recent) incident.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/trump-obama-post-white-house.html
Just a stark reminder that Democrats, especially leadership, are by and large spinless, worthless, and pathetic people.
And the Republicans are actively campaigning to massacre minorities while several of their top leaders are child predators and murderers.
Just so both sides are clearly stated. That is the norm these days, right?
We need a People’s party, that actually represents us.
Democrat leadership is, there’s a few gems in the dirt at least.
Democrats defy their leaders by relentlessly disrupting and heckling Trump SOTU speech
Wait, so the ones disrupting the speeches are spineless?
Do you honestly think that I was referring to the people who were heckling Trump?
Are you that obtuse about what I’m referencing in the article?
I’m pointing out your phrasing choice wasn’t the best.
On an article where the headline says democrats were interrupting his speech you said Democrats are spineless. Could have just left it at democrat leadership.
Thats all i’m saying. But please go back to calling me names for daring to question why you’re blaming ALL DEMOCRATS on an article where SOME DEMOCRATS were heckling him.
I think you’re further justified in your criticism because the poster’s whole schtick is to criticize Democrats.
Controlled opposition. Pretend to be the “good guys” while taking pac money
Even if they aren’t, the results are the same.
It’s why I don’t donate or volunteer for DNC for a decade now, only do that for progressive who actually fight for their convictions.
Thank you defiant Dems!
Turnabout is fair play
“Leaders” is a bit of an overstatement.
Representatives of Israel probably more apt.
