{"id":89889,"date":"2026-02-24T20:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/democrats-shouldnt-sit-on-their-hands-during-the-state-of-the-union\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:37:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:37:34","slug":"democrats-shouldnt-sit-on-their-hands-during-the-state-of-the-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/democrats-shouldnt-sit-on-their-hands-during-the-state-of-the-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats shouldn\u2019t sit on their hands during the State of the Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When President Donald Trump delivers the first official State of the Union address of his second term, many top Democratic leaders want the focus to remain on him.<\/p>\n

With Trump\u2019s agenda either faltering or sparking a backlash, they are following a familiar Washington principle that when your enemy is drowning, you don\u2019t give them a hand.<\/p>\n

I have spoken with members of Congress, senior Democratic strategists and outside organizers about how Democratic members of Congress should react during the big speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Follow MS NOW\u2019s State of the Union live blog<\/a> for the latest updates and analysis on the president\u2019s address.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They point out that the Supreme Court just rebuked<\/a> Trump over tariffs, which are also dividing Republicans<\/a>. Health care costs<\/a> are rising. Immigration agents\u2019 brutal tactics<\/a> are sparking a voter backlash. There\u2019s even a partial government shutdown<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Trump stands in the well of the House and gives his usual mix of false statements, self-aggrandizement and bizarre asides, they think that will just remind voters why they aren\u2019t happy with him right now. Why give him a foil?<\/p>\n

The logic is not unserious. But it is incomplete.<\/p>\n

Let me be clear. I\u2019m not calling for chaos or for Democratic leadership to orchestrate a spectacle. Caucus discipline matters. But there is a difference between declining to encourage disruption and actively suppressing it. And suppressing it is a mistake.<\/p>\n

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Empty seats will send a message whether or not leadership intends them to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Roughly two dozen Democratic members have announced they will not attend, opting instead for alternative events such as the People\u2019s State of the Union<\/a> or the State of the Swamp<\/a>. Others may be absent because the winter storm upended travel and forced votes to be postponed. Empty seats will send a message whether or not leadership intends them to.<\/p>\n

For those who attend, the guidance has reportedly been silent defiance.<\/p>\n

But silence in a room with Donald Trump is not defiance. It is background.<\/p>\n

The country has watched Democrats sit through one year and a few weeks of institutional erosion. Through attacks on election administration<\/a>. Through the weaponization of immigration enforcement. Through executive overreach that stretches constitutional boundaries. The feedback from voters is not that Democrats need to be quieter. It is that they need to show they grasp the severity of the moment.<\/p>\n

I keep thinking about last year, when Texas Rep. Al Green stood up and refused to sit quietly. He was removed by the sergeant-at-arms and censured. Leadership signaled its discomfort. Inside Washington, the verdict was swift: It was a distraction, it handed Republicans a talking point, it muddied the message.<\/p>\n

Outside Washington, something else happened.<\/p>\n

The image spread. It resonated with people who feel ignored, who are furious about prices, about health care, about what they see as government indifference or cruelty. They saw someone inside that chamber who looked as unsettled as they felt. That moment did not fracture the resistance; it energized it. It preceded months of organizing and demonstrations that made it clear that a significant portion of the country does not accept this as normal.<\/p>\n

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