{"id":201534,"date":"2026-02-25T06:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/democrats-hold-counter-events-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-address-these-are-not-normal-times-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T06:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:11:13","slug":"democrats-hold-counter-events-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-address-these-are-not-normal-times-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/democrats-hold-counter-events-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-address-these-are-not-normal-times-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats hold counter-events during Trump\u2019s State of the Union address: \u2018These are not normal times\u2019 – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lawmakers gather on National Mall as politicians and celebrities including Robert De Niro and Mark Ruffalo gather at National Press Club
State of the Union address – live updates<\/a>
Democrats held competing events on the evening of the State of the Union address across Washington where lawmakers boycotted the official event and protesters said they wanted to show the growing opposition to Donald Trump\u2019s increasingly unpopular<\/a> agenda.
On the National Mall, hundreds of people, including about 30 Democratic members of Congress, gathered for the \u201cPeople\u2019s State of the Union\u201d, a counter-rally. Attendees held signs that read \u201cNo Money for ICE\u201d and \u201cHealthcare Not Warfare\u201d. One person on stage carried a large poster with the photographs of the more than 30 people who had been killed in dealings with ICE since Trump took office in 2025.
The event kicked off about an hour before the president\u2019s speech was scheduled to begin.
MoveOn\u2019s executive director, Katie Bethell, told attendees the group had helped organized the boycott \u201cbecause we know that Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union will bear no resemblance to what\u2019s actually happening in this country today\u201d.
The crowd chanted: \u201cAbolish ICE! Abolish ICE!\u201d as senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, introduced his guest, Afghan refugee and immigrant advocate Fereshteh Ganjavi. Murphy explained he wasn\u2019t at the State of the Union because \u201cthese are not normal times, and Democrats<\/a> have to stop behaving normally\u201d.
Moments later, a Trump supporter pushed through the barricades on the grounds and confronted Murphy. An organizer pulled the heckler off the stage as the crowd booed.
Host Joy Reid addressed the interruption. \u201cAttention all Maga trolls: your bullshit is not welcome here,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are here to hear the truth and to hear from impacted people.\u201d
Earlier on Tuesday, a list of about 30 lawmakers who are boycotting the president\u2019s address was shared, and included Murphy, senators Chris Von Hollen of Maryland and Adam Schiff of California, and representative Greg Casar of Texas.
Attendees also chanted: \u201cRelease the files!\u201d as representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania took the stage. One protester nearby held a sign that read: \u201cRelease ALL the Files.\u201d
The real state of the union is a \u201cgovernment that would rather protect powerful people in the Epstein files than the women and the girls who are sexually abused\u201d, Lee said on stage.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lee announced<\/a> that she would introduce articles of impeachment against attorney general Pam Bondi for refusing to comply with a subpoena to release the full unredacted Epstein files.
Just before 9pm ET, there were an estimated 220,000 live viewers of the event on YouTube and other platforms, Liz Cattaneo, a spokesperson at MoveOn, told the Guardian.
More than two hours into the rally, the crowd erupted into a popular protest chant: \u201cThe people united will never be defeated.\u201d Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was targeted by the Trump administration<\/a> for deportation in 2025, initiated the chant from the stage.
He asked attendees to repeat after him: \u201cWe the people, say it loud and clear, to President Trump and his cabinet: we are not afraid of you, because the love that shines in our heart is much brighter and more powerful than the darkness of fear that is blinding you.\u201d
Several speakers encouraged Americans to exercise their right to vote, looking ahead to November\u2019s midterm elections.
\u201cVoting is our superpower,\u201d one attendee shouted as Schiff explained how voting and elections were under threat.
\u201cBetween now and November, the president will make every effort to discourage Americans from voting. He will make it harder to register and turn out,\u201d Schiff said. \u201cHe may send ICE agents to polling places to intimidate our citizens. He will cast doubt on the results when his party loses.\u201d The crowd erupted in cheers when Schiff asked: \u201cAre you ready to throw the bums out in November? Are you ready to defend our democracy?\u201d
Meanwhile, not far from the National Mall, hundreds of people including politicians and celebrities gathered at the National Press Club for \u201cState of the Swamp\u201d, an event headlined by actor Robert De Niro and hosted by Defiance.org and other anti-Trump groups.
\u201cThis is about our country imploding. It\u2019s not like something outside, it\u2019s something inside, and we can\u2019t allow it, and it\u2019s been brought to a head by a lunatic,\u201d De Niro told the Guardian. \u201cWe have to push back, not violently, of course, but just everybody has to make their presence known.\u201d
The speaker lineup also featured actor Mark Ruffalo, voting activist Stacey Abrams, lawyers George Conway, Joyce Vance and Glenn Kirschner and journalists Jim Acosta, Mehdi Hasan and Don Lemon.
\u201cI got into DC a few hours ago and got to this event just minutes ago,\u201d Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey told the Guardian. \u201cIt\u2019s full of people trying to stand up for democracy right now, angry about the trajectory of where our nation is going. They\u2019re frustrated by the lack of abiding to the United States constitution.\u201d
Frey, who is scheduled to make a State of the Union rebuttal speech during the event, gestured to the range of anxieties animating the ballroom: abortion rights, international tensions with Iran and environmental protections.
Green frog-themed swag filled every seat, a nod to the Oregon protesters who donned inflatable frog costumes during demonstrations against federal immigration agents last year.
In the middle of Trump\u2019s speech, former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham drew on her time inside the first Trump administration to call the president a liar. Grisham left the administration in 2021 and has since become one of Trump\u2019s most outspoken critics.
\u201cHe used to tell me: \u2018Stephanie, if you tell them enough, they will believe it,\u2019\u201d she told the crowd at the event, after his speech was turned off. \u201cI can tell you, he is lying right now to this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

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