{"id":2573411,"date":"2026-02-25T08:16:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-boycott-trumps-state-of-the-union-speech-full-of-lies\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T08:20:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:20:39","slug":"democrats-boycott-trumps-state-of-the-union-speech-full-of-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-boycott-trumps-state-of-the-union-speech-full-of-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats boycott Trump\u2019s State of the Union speech full of &#8216;lies&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-boycott-trumps-state-of-the-union-speech-full-of-lies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573411&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democrats organized counterprogramming to Donald Trump\u2019s State of the Union address, with many skipping the speech and others staging events around the Capitol and National Mall to present an alternate viewpoint.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Organizers MoveOn and liberal outlet Meidas Touch announced a counter-event on February 13,aiming to label the address a \u201cnight full of lies\u201d and to be attended by about 35 Democratic lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Attendees included Sens. Ruben gallego (AZ), Adam Schiff (CA), and Ed Markey (MA), as well as Rep. robert Garcia (CA). Joy Reid and Katie Phang hosted a three-hour rally in front of the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Democrats highlighted issues such as immigration policy, the Epstein case files, and tax cuts, arguing that Trump\u2019s speech would not reflect Americans\u2019 experiences. Gallego, Schiff, and Markey offered sharp critiques, with Markey using a Pinocchio metaphor to describe alleged lies.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Guests at the events included survivors of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/juror-50-pleads-the-fifth-granted-immunity-in-maxwell-trial\/\" title=\"Juror #50 Pleads the Fifth, Granted Immunity in Maxwell Trial\">sex-trafficking case<\/a>, families affected by immigration enforcement, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-spike-in-florida-coronavirus-cases-despite-no-mask-mandate\/\" title=\"No Spike in Florida Coronavirus Cases Despite No Mask Mandate\">healthcare workers<\/a>, who urged accountability and openness from the management.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; There were counterprotest moments during the rallies, including a Trump supporter briefly rushing the stage and a spectator booing Reid; Reid responded strongly from the podium.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; In addition to the National Mall rally,other counterprogramming existed,such as Defiance.org\u2019s \u201cState of the Swamp\u201d organized with COURIER and featuring actors like Robert De Niro and Mark Ruffalo. Some Democrats chose to attend the State of the Union with \u201csilent defiance\u201d or not at all, though others, including Ilhan Omar and Al Green, spoke out from the chamber or elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; the events represented a broader Democratic counter-messaging effort, contrasting with Trump\u2019s address and emphasizing an alternate vision for the country.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Democrats boycott Trump&rsquo;s State of the Union speech full of &lsquo;lies&rsquo; for rally<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2513946\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">Democratic lawmakers gathered at the&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/National-Mall\/\">National Mall<\/a>&nbsp;Tuesday evening to counter President&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a>&nbsp;State of the Union address and <\/span>protest his administration, basing their absence on the anticipation of Trump lying during his speech.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>MoveOn and liberal media outlet Meidas Touch announced on Feb. 13 that it was organizing a counterprogramming to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/State-of-the-Union\/\">State of the Union<\/a> with 35 Democratic lawmakers, characterizing Trump&rsquo;s address as a &ldquo;night full of lies,&rdquo; according to the press release.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469101\/trump-state-of-the-union-democrats-not-going\/\">2026 State of the Union: Here are the most notable names skipping Trump&#8217;s address<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/4462587\/obit-ed-crane-1944-2026-small-government\/\">Ed Crane, 1944-2026<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I am not at the State of the Union tonight because Donald Trump is making a mockery of this great institution, and he doesn&rsquo;t deserve an audience,&rdquo; Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Chris-Murphy\/\">Chris Murphy<\/a> (D-CT) said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to hear about the State of the Union [during Trump&rsquo;s speech], you are going to hear lie after lie.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During their remarks, each Democrat explained they did not attend Trump&rsquo;s State of the Union because the president&rsquo;s speech wouldn&rsquo;t reflect Americans&rsquo; current experiences and feelings about the country.<\/p>\n<p>Former MSNBC anchors turned independent journalists <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joy-reid\/\">Joy Reid<\/a> and Katie Phang hosted the over three-hour rally in front of the Capitol.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/live-blog\/trump-state-of-the-union-2026-live-updates\/\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4470271\/inside-chamber-state-of-the-union-trump-under-democrats-skin\/\"><strong>INSIDE THE CHAMBER: TRUMP GETS UNDER DEMOCRATS&rsquo; SKIN AT STATE OF THE UNION<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Some of the lawmakers in attendance were Sens. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Ruben-Gallego\/\">Ruben Gallego<\/a> (D-AZ), <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Adam-Schiff\/\">Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-CA), and Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ed-markey\/\">Ed Markey<\/a> (D-MA) and Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Robert-Garcia\/\">Robert Garcia<\/a> (D-CA).<\/p>\n<p>Democrats provided an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4461578\/democrats-skip-trump-state-of-the-union-national-mall-rally\/\">alternate vision for the country in their remarks<\/a>, criticizing Trump for the administration&rsquo;s immigration policy, handling of the Epstein files, and tax cuts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gallego said he wouldn&rsquo;t &ldquo;stand for this,&rdquo; regarding the Trump administration&rsquo;s policies on immigration, taxes, and security.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They want to call that the State of the Union. It is a state of denial, because what&rsquo;s going to happen under that Capitol is a bunch of lies,&rdquo; Gallego said. &ldquo;Lies that Donald Trump and Republicans are going to tell us about how great the country is.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What is true, what is happening right now, is that Donald Trump and Republicans made this country sicker, poorer, and less secure,&rdquo; Gallego added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Schiff argued that Trump&rsquo;s campaign promises have &ldquo;all been broken.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;All of this violates the oath the president took to faithfully administer the laws, to vigorously defend the Constitution,&rdquo; Schiff said. &ldquo;Thankfully, our founders gave us the tools to fight back against the man who would be king &hellip; and that is the right to vote.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Markey compared Trump to Pinocchio to demonstrate the amount of &ldquo;lies&rdquo; that would be in Trump&rsquo;s address.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The State of the Union should be a moment of truth, a reckoning with reality, &rdquo; Markey said. &ldquo;But under Donald Trump it has become a lies-a-palooza &hellip; if he was Pinocchio his nose would stretch out across the entire length of the floor of the Congress.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Multiple survivors of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\">Jeffrey Epstein&rsquo;s <\/a>sex trafficking ring attended the State of the Union as guests for various members of Congress, to bring attention to the Department of Justice releasing all the files related to the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >late convicted sex offender<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Garcia, whose guest for the State of the Union was survivor Annie Farmer, said Trump is leading the &ldquo;largest government cover-up&rdquo; in modern history.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The single most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-pardons-tech-pioneer-who-was-arrested-in-librarys-sci-fi-section-given-two-life-sentences\/\" title=\"Trump Pardons Tech Pioneer Who Was Arrested in Library&#039;s Sci...Fi Section, Given Two Life Sentences\">powerful moment tonight<\/a> is going to be when Donald Trump has to look up at that gallery of the U.S. House and see the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein looking back at him, demanding justice, demanding truth, and demanding accountability,&rdquo; Garcia said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Epstein survivors, families affected by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\/\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a>, fired public health workers, and Americans losing healthcare benefits joined the members of Congress at the rally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There were two separate outbursts at the rally by counterprotesters. At one moment, a Trump supporter ran onto the stage during Murphy&rsquo;s remarks, who was the first speaker, and organizers escorted him away from the podium. A different Trump supporter booed Reid from the crowd when she introduced a speaker.<\/p>\n<p>Reid addressed both protesters when she returned to the podium, saying, &ldquo;F*** y&rsquo;all.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Attention to all MAGA trolls &hellip; your b******* is not welcome here,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re here to tell the truth and to hear from impacted people, not to see or hear from you so you go back and pay attention to your orange lying friend.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4470556\/these-people-are-crazy-six-takeaways-from-trumps-state-of-the-union\/\"><strong>&lsquo;THESE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY&rsquo;: SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP&rsquo;S STATE OF THE UNION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4461578\/democrats-skip-trump-state-of-the-union-national-mall-rally\/\">People&rsquo;s State of the Union<\/a> is one part of Democrats&rsquo; counterprogramming and response to Trump&rsquo;s address.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/defiance.org\">Defiance.org<\/a>, the Portland Frog Brigade, and COURIER organized another rally, the &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4469718\/robert-de-niro-joins-democrats-protest-trump\/\">State of the Swamp<\/a>,&rdquo; countering Trump&rsquo;s address. Among the Democratic lawmakers who attended this event were remarks from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4469718\/robert-de-niro-joins-democrats-protest-trump\/\">actors Robert De Niro<\/a> and Mark Ruffalo.<\/p>\n<p>While it&rsquo;s customary for both parties to attend the president&rsquo;s address during a joint session of Congress, many Democrats chose to attend counterprogramming or skip the address altogether.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>House Minority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4461974\/jeffries-rules-house-democrats-state-of-the-union\/\">Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> (D-NY) encouraged his caucus last week to sit in &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jeffries-democrats-should-sit-in-silent-defiance-during-state-of-the-union\/\" title=\"Jeffries: ... should sit in &#039;silent ...&#039; during ... of the ...\">silent defiance&#038;rdquo<\/a>; during Trump&rsquo;s speech, or not go at all. However, not all Democrats followed Jeffries&rsquo;s advice, with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/2y9nrrst\">outbursts from Rep. Al Green <\/a>(D-TX) and Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/live-blog-posts\/tlaib-omar-yell-trump-killing-american-citizens\/\">Ilhan Omar<\/a> (D-MN).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats skip Trump SOTU, plan counterevent over lies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3984,"featured_media":2573412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ss-e1771997557195.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3685,13420,5117,73673,3634],"class_list":["post-2573411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-democrats","tag-fact-check","tag-lies","tag-state-of-the-union-2","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ss-e1771997557195.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573411"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573415,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573411\/revisions\/2573415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}