Democrats hold counter-events during Trump's State of the Union address: 'These are not normal times'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 24 Feb 2026 21.12 EST
Last modified on Tue 24 Feb 2026 23.31 EST


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’s increasingly unpopular agenda.

On the National Mall, hundreds of people, including about 30 Democratic members of Congress, gathered for the “People’s State of the Union”, a counter-rally. Attendees held signs that read “No Money for ICE” and “Healthcare Not Warfare”. 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’s speech was scheduled to begin. MoveOn’s executive director, Katie Bethell, told attendees the group had helped organized the boycott “because we know that Donald Trump’s State of the Union will bear no resemblance to what’s actually happening in this country today”.

The crowd chanted: “Abolish ICE! Abolish ICE!” as senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, introduced his guest, Afghan refugee and immigrant advocate Fereshteh Ganjavi. Murphy explained he wasn’t at the State of the Union because “these are not normal times, and Democrats have to stop behaving normally”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/24/democrats-boycott-trump-state-of-the-union-peoples-sotu

[Clouds Passing]

1. "These are not normal times, and Democrats have to stop behaving normally."

[KPN]

3. THIS a thousand times! Thankfully Democrats are beginning to do that increasingly ... even our leaders are

beginning to show some subtle signs of moxie. Albeit not enough in my opinion. They are gifted statesmen and well intended no doubt, but "not behaving normally" is not in their natural makeup.

[electric_blue68]

2. It was a good counter rally.