A hundred minutes — that's how long President Trump had the floor — literally — last night.A hundred minutes he used to lay out his agenda, his grievances and what he argued are the accomplishments of his first six weeks in office.This all came during his "joint address" to Congress — the State of the Union that's not a State of the Union.Since Trump returned to office in January, there's been little room left for democrats to make their case to the American people. Democratic moderates think they have an answer for Trump 2.0. What does their playbook look like? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
What unusual events occurred during Trump's joint address to Congress?
Heckling a president during a speech isn't new. What was unprecedented Tuesday night as President Trump addressed the nation in a joint session of Congress was a lawmaker being escorted out for such heckling. We won the popular vote by big numbers and won counties in our country.
Texas Democratic Representative Al Green stood up after Trump said voters gave them a mandate when they elected him last fall. Green waved his cane as he yelled at the president. You don't have a mandate to cut Medicaid. House Speaker Mike Johnson gave warnings.
Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.
And when that didn't work, Green was removed from the House chamber.
The chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber.
This was one of several ways Democrats protested the president's speech last night. They also held signs throughout the speech with phrases like that's a lie or Musk steals. Many wore pink to try to make a statement. Some walked out during the speech. Others skipped the event altogether.
This has been some Democrats approach to Trump's first six weeks in office as he's aimed to slash the federal workforce, tested the separation of powers and reshaped the global order. Democrats don't control any of the levers of power, so they protest. But we also saw a different approach Tuesday night.
My dad was a lifelong Republican. My mom, a lifelong Democrat. But it was never a big deal because we had shared values that were bigger than any one party.
For their response to Trump's address, Democrats chose a senator who won last November in a state that Trump carried. Alyssa Slotkin is a centrist from Michigan. She framed Trump's agenda as an attack on the middle class.
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