Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer says US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday was “delusional”. According to him, the president did not deal with the problems of ordinary Americans in this record-long speech. During the speech, several Democrats expressed their disapproval with banners or shouts, one of them was expelled from the room for a banner criticizing Trump’s recent video about ex-president Barack Obama and his wife. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
In short:
- Chuck Schumer called Trump’s State of the Union speech delusional
- Democrats protested with banners and shouts during the speech
- Trump’s speech was the longest in US history
“Americans have never seen a State of the Union address so disconnected from reality. The president’s rhetoric and the reality of the country are miles apart,” the senator said. “Donald Trump has painted an illusory picture of America that the working American would hardly recognize,” Schumer added.
A record-long speech
In his State of the Union speech, Trump covered several topics, from the economy to Iran, AFP notes. This speech at a joint session of both houses of Congress lasted one hour and 47 minutes. It was the longest State of the Union address in US history. Trump thus broke the record of former President Bill Clinton, who delivered an 80-minute speech in 2000.
Dozens of Democrats did not attend the event at all, and those who did mostly remained seated, with rare exceptions. According to AFP , Congress plays a key role during the State of the Union address, applauding or standing up to show approval of the president, or remaining seated to express displeasure.
Symbolic protest of the Democrats
Several Democrats wore white to pay tribute to the suffragette movement celebrating women’s right to vote, or wore badges calling for the accountability of those named in the dossier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, Al Green, was expelled from the room for his banner that read: “Black people are not monkeys!”. This was in response to a conspiracy video that Trump recently posted, then removed after widespread criticism, on his Truth Social network, in which former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were depicted as monkeys.
“He saw it, he got it,” Green told reporters of his reference to the Trump banner, according to NBC News.
Emotional reactions and criticism
Green was also escorted out of the room last year during Trump’s address to Congress after he repeatedly yelled at the president, stood and shook his walking stick at Trump.
TIME magazine reported that Democrats Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar repeatedly rose from their seats during the president’s speech and shouted, “You killed Americans.” Trump was later shouted down to release all files related to Epstein.
In a silent protest, Democrat Norma Torres held a banner with the names and photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis in January.
At one point, Trump pointed to the side of the room where Democrats were sitting and said, “These people are crazy.” Republicans responded with applause at the claim, while Democrats sat idly by.
