Democrats holding signs sign reading “Musk Steals” and “Save Medicaid” as President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol last night.
Dear Commons Community,
Democratic lawmakers protested President Donald Trump with multiple signs during a speech to the Joint Session of Congress that quickly turned into a partisan rhetorical brawl.
Representatives were seen holding up black signs with white letters saying: “Save Medicaid,” “Musk Steals” and “Protect Veterans,” with “False” written on the back.
As Trump entered the chamber, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, displayed a sign saying, “This is not normal.” Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas ripped it out of her hands and threw it, nearly hitting the president’s head as he walked down the aisle.
Representative Al Green, a Texas Democrat, stood and yelled, “You don’t have a mandate,” before Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ordered him removed. Green announced in February that he would file articles of impeachment against Trump over “injustice in Gaza.”
“I’ll accept the punishment. It’s worth it to let people know that there’s some of us who are going to stand up to against this president’s desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security,” Green told a media scrum captured by CSPAN.
As Trump was complaining about Democratic support, California Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros yelled: “But the stock market,” while Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib yelled “save Medicaid.”
Tlaib was holding a small dry erase board on which she wrote messages including: “no king!” and “that’s a LIE!”
Democrats left the speech, turning their back on the president to reveal black T-shirts with the word “RESIST” in white letters.
California Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove was also one of the Democrats who left. She wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “there’s only so much (expletive) a person can tolerate.”
“Through walking out, my message to Donald Trump is simple: stop the lies, stop the cheating, and stop the stealing – enough is enough. The American people deserve better,” she wrote in a statement.
In sum, Trump’s speech was a horrendous display of the state of the American political system.
Tony
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