House Democrats are discussing a way to “productively” disrupt President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress — but they haven’t come to a consensus on how they will do so, according to a report.
Some Democrats are considering a range of plans to protest against Trump’s joint Congressional address Tuesday evening, Axios reported. Others are weighing other tactics, like boycotting the speech altogether, but they are aligned in trying to find a way to convey “outrage” at how the president’s first two months in office have gone.
“The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way — productively — to express our outrage,” one House Democrat told the outlet.
Congress members may even hold up noisemakers or other props to demonstrate their frustration.
Some of these ideas include displaying eggs or empty egg cartons — to comment on the all-time high prices — pocket constitutions — to comment on his alleged Constitutional violations — and anti-Trump and Department of Government Efficiency signs, the outlet reported.
Lawmakers were explicitly urged against using props at recent meetings, two Democratic lawmakers told the outlet.
Other House Democrats are contemplating walking out if he crosses a line when mentioning certain stances, like criticism of transgender children, one lawmaker told the outlet.
Not everyone is convinced this is the right move, however. “There are definitely a lot of constituents that really want Democrats to disrupt and there are … constituents who feel like that just plays into his hands,” a House Democrat told Axios.
House Minority Leader wrote a letter Monday to House Democrats that he understands if they choose to ditch the speech, but encouraged a “strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber.” He and other party leaders plan to attend the speech in order “make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance,” he wrote.
Others still are planning to convey their disapproval through their wardrobes.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus is encouraging all of its members to wear pink, Congresswomen from the Congressional Black Caucus are discussing sporting black, and the Ukraine Caucus co-chair, Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, is planning on doling out blue and yellow scarves — the colors of Ukraine’s flag — to show support for Volodymyr Zelensky after last week’s disastrous Oval Office meeting.
“Whether we are wearing pink, or black, or yellow and blue, we are all conveying our displeasure with this administration,” Virgin Islands Rep. Stacey Plaskett told Axios. “What’s more important is our work together and the pressure for three Republicans to do the right thing for everyone.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson last week insisted Republicans show “decorum” during the president’s Tuesday speech.
But this type of decorum during presidential addresses seems to have gone out the window in recent years.
During former President Joe Biden’s state of the union, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene handed out Laken Riley pins and shouted at him to “say her name” during his address.
Four years earlier, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed dissent during Trump’s last state of the union address of his first term when she ripped up a copy of his speech. She later explained the move to reporters: “It was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative.”
