Politics
WATCH: Republican Lawmakers Chant ‘USA’ As Trump Gets Five-Minute Ovation Ahead Of Congressional Address
President Donald Trump received a warm ovation from Republican lawmakers and guests for his joint address to both chambers of Congress on Tuesday night, highlighting the sharp ideological divide between both major political parties.
While the joint address to Congress is not officially classified as a State of the Union address, it functions almost exactly the same in practice. The tradition was started by President Ronald Reagan and has continued for all presidents in their first year in the White House.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins was appointed as the designated survivor, the lone cabinet member who stays behind and would assume the presidency in the event of a catastrophic attack that wipes out the presidential line of succession.
Before President Trump made his entrance, members of the cabinet filed their way into the Capitol Rotunda. Keeping in line with party divide, Trump cabinet members shook hands with Republican lawmakers while Democrats sat stone-faced and looked ahead. First Lady Melania Trump then made her way into the chamber and received a loud ovation.
Supreme Court Justices Bret Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagen were also in attendance, though Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Ketanji Brown Jackson opted not to attend. Justices Thomas and Alito rarely attend presidential addresses.
Finally, President Trump was introduced as, ” Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States,” by the House Sergeant At Arms. The chamber then erupted into sustained applause from Republican lawmakers that continued for more than three minutes as the president, flanked by House Republican leaders, made his way down the aisle.
The president slowly made his way towards the podium, stopping to shake hands and mingle with Republican lawmakers, as well as attending Supreme Court justices and military leaders. Just as the president made his way to the podium to take his position in front of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Vice President J.D. Vance, Republican lawmakers erupted into loud chants of “USA, USA!”
The days and hours leading up to the address featured widespread speculation, as a report from Axios indicated that Democrat lawmakers planned on bringing props to disrupt the president’s speech. Potential props included noisemakers, hand-clappers, empty egg cartons to highlight the cost of eggs and anti-Trump signs.
The prospect of bringing props ignited intense debate between Democratic Party leadership and members of the progressive caucus, as party leaders thought props would constitute a bad look for the party and “play into Trump’s hands,” one Democrat lawmaker told Axios.
Through the early part of the president’s address, Democrats appear to have mostly forgone props, though a number of female Democrats wore pink to highlight the Trump Administration’s alleged efforts to “roll back women’s rights.” One lawmaker wore a pink suit with the words “We The People” on her collars and text of the 14th Amendment, which was used by Democrats in an attempt to subvert the will of the voters and remove Trump from the ballot.
