Lukewarm response to Trump’s speech showcases differences among Democrats

One might have expected the Democrats’ response to Donald Trump’s speech in Congress to be a display of considerable outrage — perhaps a volley of boos, or a mass walkout (a small group did in fact walk out, with the word “resist” written on the back of their black T-shirts) — but they could not even agree on that. Circumspect, more silent than might be expected in the face of a defiant Trump, the Democrats showed on Tuesday that the Republican’s second term has almost no opposition to speak of. Elissa Slotkin, a Democratic senator from Michigan, responded as the presumed emerging figure of a party in disarray since the defeat of its presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, in November. But the lack of definition among Democrats has also permeated their capacity to react inside the House: on Tuesday there was some light booing, a few slogans and banners, serious faces and lost steps by the group of deserters. One Democrat, Representative Al Green of Texas, was expelled in the first few minutes for confronting Trump with a cane in his hand. As the session progressed, made interminable by the repeated applause of the Republicans, a trickle of Democrats, including Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar, left the chamber in a sign of disagreement.

Responding to the president’s speech is an opportunity for emerging leaders to project themselves onto the national stage. Slotkin, 48, a former CIA analyst who served in Iraq and later worked at the Pentagon and White House during the Bush and Obama administrations, did what she could. In a live address from Wyandotte, Michigan, Slotkin said that most Americans share three core beliefs: “That the Middle Class is the engine of our country. That strong national security protects us from harm. And that our democracy, no matter how messy, is unparalleled and worth fighting for.” But she added that “there is a responsible way to make change, and a reckless way.”

Slotkin, who campaigned last year on the cost of living and won a state that was also won by Trump, has been hard on the issue she knows best, the economy, accusing the president of giving gifts “to his billionaire friends” and warning that “he could walk us right into a recession.” But she also criticized the role of Elon Musk, particularly over the entrepreneur’s recent quote that Social Security is “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” On the Ukraine war, the Democratic senator nostalgically cited Republican Ronald Reagan to contrast Trump’s approach. “After the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling over in his grave,” she said, alluding to Trump’s ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, while expressing gratitude that Reagan and not Trump was president in the 1980s, when the fall of communist regimes was brewing.

In addition to inviting veterans and victims of government cuts by Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to Congress, Democrats discussed their protest options until the last minute, including outright disruption, according to the Axios news site. But widespread disagreement, both inside and outside Congress, about what would be the most effective and appropriate way to express their opposition ended up prevailing. Many wanted the reaction not to revolve around Trump, so as not to give him more prominence, but on the consequences of his rushed government agenda; very few, almost no one, seemed inclined to feature in theatrical moments like that of Nancy Pelosi in 2020, then Speaker of the House, when she tore up a copy of the Republican’s speech.

The difference in attitudes among Democratic legislators over the appropriate response to Trump is synonymous with their attempts to find a common direction after being knocked out in November. It is a party in search of a clear leader, with an increasingly restless and demanding voter base. Among the battery of possible responses, the Democrats considered, according to Axios, the possibility of raising signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages, which they did; empty egg cartons to highlight the rise in inflation, pocket constitutions to scold him for closing federal agencies authorized by Congress, pink hats — finally replaced by the pink suits of a handful of legislators; the only note of color in a mourning bench — red cards like those held up to express disagreement at town halls, and black warning signs pointing out different red lines such as Medicaid.

Democratic sources told Axios that “in closed-door meetings and on the House floor Monday night, lawmakers were specifically discouraged from using props.” The recommendation seems to contradict the feeling of the party’s voter base, more in favor of a fight. In practice, inside the Capitol, this duality manifested itself in a mood halfway between steely and funerary.

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