Jeffries Tells Fellow Democrats Planning To Cause a Ruckus at State of the Union To Zip It or Go Elsewhere

The House minority leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, is sending a simple message to his colleagues ahead of President Trump’s state of the union address next week — behave yourselves or don’t come. The speech last year saw one Democratic lawmaker ejected from the chamber and dozens more holding up signs to register their disapproval. Mr. Jeffries’ demand comes after several reports state that Democrats plan to protest inside of the House chamber during Mr. Trump’s speech, which is taking place on Tuesday. The House minority leader says sitting stone-faced would be more helpful than shouting down Mr. Trump. Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, Mr. Jeffries made clear he does not want to see a repeat of last year’s events. “As we approach the state of the union address, my view remains the same, which is that the two options that are in front of us in our House [are] either to attend with silent defiance or to not attend and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion,” Mr. Jeffries said when asked about potential protests at this year’s speech. He says that lawmakers have the opportunity to participate in a “variety of different alternate programming that is gonna take place in and around the Capitol complex.” Mr. Jeffries says he himself plans to attend the address. “We’re not going to Donald Trump’s house — he’s coming to our house,” Mr. Jeffries said. “It’s my view that you don’t let anyone ever run you off of your block.”There are a number of different events being held in the nation’s capital for Democratic lawmakers and their supporters to rebut the president’s speech on Tuesday. One such event is titled “State of the Swamp: The Rebuttal to the State of the Union” will be held at the National Press Club just a few blocks from the White House. One of the speakers will be actor Robert De Niro. Other participants at that rebuttal event include Senator Ron Wyden, Congressmen Eric Swalwell, Jason Crow, and Seth Moulton, and Dan Goldman, as well as congressional candidate George Conway. Former Trump officials from the first administration, Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye, will also attend. On Wednesday, the activist group MoveOn announced that it, too, would be hosting an in-person event on the same night as Mr. Trump’s speech. At least a dozen members of Congress plan on speaking at that rally on the National Mall. “Donald Trump has made a mockery of the State of the Union speech — taking a moment that is meant to bring the country together and turning it into a campaign rally to spew hatred and division,” Senator Chris Murphy, will be speaking at that rally, said in a statement. “Democrats have no obligation to reward him with an audience as he lies and attacks people who disagree with him.”Mr. Jeffries comments on Wednesday followed a number of news reports stating that some Democratic lawmakers plan to protest inside of the chamber this year. The Hill reports that one lawmaker, Congressman Shri Thanedar, is thinking about some kind of protest to register his distaste for the president. Another report from Axios states that Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez and her colleagues plan to make their feelings known. Mr. Trump’s speech to Congress last year marked one of the most contentious in history. One Democrat, Congressman Al Green, was ejected from the House chamber after yelling at Mr. Trump for several minutes about his administration’s cuts to Medicaid. Speaker Mike Johnson had to direct the sergeant-at-arms to escort Mr. Green from the room. He was later censured for his outburst. One lawmaker, Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, held up a sign that read, “This is not normal” as Mr. Trump walked down the aisle to the podium. A Republican congressman ripped the sign from her hands and threw it. Throughout the course of the speech, Democrats held up various signs to silently register their feelings. Dozens of lawmakers held up paddleboards that stated, “False,” or “Musk steals.” Other signs said, “Save Medicaid,” while at least one lawmaker, Congresswoman Rashid Tlaib, brought a whiteboard to write messages for the president to see.

Jeffries Tells Fellow Democrats Planning To Cause a Ruckus at State of the Union To Zip It or Go Elsewhere

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