President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday for the first time in five years. Democrats are determined not to make their response all about him. That might come as a surprise for those who remember what ensued during Trump’s first term. His congressional addresses became a prominent stage for the Democratic resistance, with lawmakers booing, chanting and walking out at times. Many chose outfits and invited guests to make a point. Most famously, in 2020, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up a copy of Trump’s speech while seated directly behind him on the dais.
This time, many Democrats are signaling they’ll take a less pugilistic stance — the latest sign that the party is still coming to terms with how to confront the president, even as the party base grows increasingly restless. “In 2017, a lot of us felt like Donald Trump was an anomaly. In 2025, he won the election. Everybody knows who he is. He said what he was going to do, and the country still voted for him, so I think we have to be very strategic as Democrats,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.).
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