(Washington, D.C.) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed the first year of his presidency as a “turnaround for the ages,” touting his policies and assailing Democrats in the longest State of the Union speech by any president.
Trump sought to use the address to project a sense of a strong and growing country, bashing President Joe Biden and saying the country is “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.”
But in a sign of extraordinary partisan tensions, many Democratic lawmakers, including both of Maryland’s senators and several members of the congressional delegation, boycotted the speech in protest of Trump’s policies. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. April Delaney (D-Md.) attended an alternative rally on the National Mall, the “People’s State of the Union.”
“What Donald Trump wants to do is what we know all bullies do, all dictators do,” Van Hollen said Tuesday. “He wants to intimidate all of us. He wants us to sit obediently and quietly while he lies and lies and lies to the American people. In other words, he wants us to shut up and sit down.”
Trump’s joint address comes amid recent setbacks, including a Supreme Court decision striking down his tariff policies, and a partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding. A recent CNN poll found that nearly 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s policies.
Nevertheless, Trump hailed his immigration policy as a success, saying, “We have the strongest border in American history.” He repeatedly claimed that Democrats and the Biden administration were at fault for rampant illegal immigration.
The boycott was a break from past State of the Union addresses, historically a staid occasion. But the event has become more hotly partisan in recent years. Tuesday night’s event was no different.
Only a few minutes into the speech, Democratic Rep. Al Green, of Texas, walked out of the chamber after displaying a sign reading, “Black People Aren’t Apes,” a reference to a racist video portraying the Obamas as monkeys recently posted on Trump’s social media.
Trump, his tone turning increasingly combative during his speech, repeatedly attacked Democrats for opposing his policies, and claimed without evidence that Democrats can only win elections by cheating.
“These people are crazy,” Trump said, pointing at Democrats in the chamber. “Democrats are destroying our country, but we stopped it in the nick of time.”
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In one of the most heated exchanges of the night, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) shouted at Trump’s remarks that alleged widespread fraud by Somali immigrants in Minnesota. Omar and Tlaib walked out before the speech was over.
Before the speech, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the boycott “detestable” during an appearance on CBS News.
Democrats were divided prior to the speech on how best to respond to Trump. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called for “silent defiance” from House Democrats. The protests outside stood in stark contrast to the silence of Democrats in the chamber. Several Democrats chose to make a point with their guests.
Dozens of accusers of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were in attendance as guests of Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Jamie Raskin invited the brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein who died by suicide last year. The Justice Department has released nearly 3 million files related to its investigation into Epstein, but some lawmakers say the administration has not disclosed enough.
Giuffre “bravely pursued justice for the victims and accountability for the perpetrators of the horrific crimes committed against girls and young women by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and other upper-class abusers who took part in the pair’s vicious trafficking ring,” Raskin said.
Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), who attended with Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk as her guest, said respecting the three equal branches of government was the best way to counter Trump.
“After over a year of the president side-stepping and thwarting the will of Congress, I believe it’s important for us to be present and re-assert our role as a co-equal branch of government,” Elfreth said in a statement. “The president may thwart civility, but I will not.”
Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.) appeared glued to his phone in the chamber as he fired off social media posts in response to the president.
When Trump at one point said, “The state of our union is strong,” Olszewski retorted on X: “Trump says #SOTU is strong? How? Americans are concerned about high costs, threats to democracy, corrupt foreign entanglements, and pardons for sale. Just to name a few.”
Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s sole Republican representative, lauded Trump on X during the speech. “President Trump has delivered REAL results for the American people: a more secure border and a safer nation,” he wrote on X.
Rep. Glenn Ivey skipped the speech, instead spending the day with the son of Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a Sierra Leonean woman who was detained by federal immigration authorities last year.
“This is not who we are, this is not the America that the Constitution calls us to be, this is not the America that we ought to be,” said Ivey. “We’re gonna keep fighting until we get there.”
Ryan Bowie, Ben Messinger, Stephen Lotz, Ellie Jornlin, Max Schaeffer, Nina Wilson, Sanya Wason and Will Hammann contributed to this report.