Feb 24

Feb 24 Looking Small

Donald Trump, Protest, Performances, Public Declarations, Signs and Posters, The Age of Trump

Dateline: February 24, 2026, the National Mall, Washington, D.C.

Tonight, members of the Democratic Party staged an alternative to Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address. Sponsored by Moveon.org, the event was branded, The People’s State of the Union. Because tickets to Trump’s address before a joint session of Congress were “sold out,” I headed to the National Mall where 24 Democratic Senators and Representative who were boycotting Trump’s address spoke.

Arriving 90 minutes before the 8:00 PM start time, I picked up my media credentials, and then staked out a position on the left-hand side of the stage toward the front. To my immediate left, there were 10 or more video cameras. The ABC News cameraman was to my immediate left. Presumably, CNN, Fox, MSNOW, and other major outlets were on hand. As a security measure, the networks often don’t display identifying signage, so unless an on-air personality is present, it is not clear which outlets are covering the event. During the course of the evening, I saw only one on-air personality doing a stand up. Presumably, the networks cut to the feeds coming from the People’s State of the Union both before and after Trump’s address.

Standing next to me was a young man from an online news outlet. As we chatted, I said to him, “This makes the Democrats look very small.” I sensed that he agreed, but he was understandably more circumspect than I.

The staging made the event look small and inconsequential. Two large portable light banks lit a rickety stage, with two flimsy banners flanking the podium. The organizers provided no risers for the video cameras, which meant the photographers in front of the television cameras had to kneel or sit on the cold ground. The stage was surrounded by bicycle racks serving as protective barriers. Nobody bothered to dress the racks with colorful bunting. Waiting to take the podium, the evening’s speakers huddled together in two flimsy white tents. I saw no nearby porta-potties, nor trays filled with food or beverages.

I had incorrectly assumed a large crowd would turn out to watch the speakers castigate Trump. I didn’t do a headcount, but I doubt there were more than 50 or 75 demonstrators present. A few brought signs and flags.

The event was hosted by Katie Phang and Joy Reid, both former MSNBC hosts, the Left-leaning cable network that has since been rebranded itself as MSNOW. Since leaving MSNOW in 2025, both Phang and Reid now host YouTube channels. Best described as highly enthusiastic hosts, both inappropriately interjected their rhetoric into the proceedings. The MCs are not supposed to compete with or overshadow the speakers. Put bluntly, it’s not about you.

The evening began with what somewhat misleadingly was characterized as a “prayer” from the Reverend Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, who currently serves as the president and CEO of the Interfaith Alliance. What I heard was a speech that could have been easily delivered by any of the other speakers. That said, Raushenbush was hands down the most dynamic speaker of the evening. Leaping from side to side, punching the air, and wildly gesticulating as he spoke, Raushenbush was highly effective and entertaining, but I heard no references to “Our Lord.”

Following Raushenbush’s performance, Senator Christopher Murphy (CT-D) took to the podium. Murphy focused his remarks on the plight of immigrants. Notably, during Murphy’s speech, a man rushed the stage, yelling “Go Trump, Go Trump.” I am embarrassed to say, I missed the shot. In my defense, he was on the stage for less than five seconds before being ejected.

The incident demonstrated that security for the event was woefully inadequate. While I can’t say for sure, I didn’t see any police officers intervening or an arrest, which is surprising given the presence of elected officials. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but this could have easily turned into a tragic incident on par with the attempted assassinations of Congressman Steve Scalise and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

When Murphy finished speaking, he introduced Fereshteh Ganjavi, his “guest” for the evening—better characterized as a prop. Ganjavi is an Afghan refugee residing in Connecticut who assists other refugees as they resettle in the United States. She spoke about the fear that the Trump Administration’s deportation efforts has created in classrooms, workplaces, and doctors’ offices.

Many of the other politicians who spoke followed Murphy’s format by bringing a so-called “friend” whose personal experiences supported the politician’s remarks. Among the speakers were Senator Ruben Gallego, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Tina Smith, Senator Edward Markey, Senator Adam Schiff, Representative Summer Lee, Representative Greg Casar, Representative Robert Garcia, Representative Pramila Jayapal, Representative Delia Ramirez, Representative Maxwell Frost, and Representative Jim Himes. In total, 44 elected officials and their guests spoke, together with several other people.

As is typical when politicians are involved, there were far too many speeches. Virtually every speech could have been cut in half without undermining the message. I left after 2.5 hours in 32° F weather, which meant I missed 23 speeches. To be blunt, nobody should expect people on a cold February evening to listen to four or five hours of largely repetitive speeches. Unless the organizers changed the pacing, the event wrapped somewhere between 11:30 PM and midnight.

The organizers didn’t care about those standing and sitting in the cold. This event was aimed at a television audience. The next day I received an email from Liz Cattaneo, Moveon.org’s communications director, stating that the People’s State of the Union was watched by more than 4,000,000 people “through streams from Medias Touch, MoveOn, PBS, MSNow, and partner groups.” While 4,000,000 people may have tuned in, I seriously doubt whether most watched more than 15 to 30 minutes of the four- or five-hour event.

The speakers addressed all the issues that typically make up the Democratic agenda, including LGBQT and migrant rights, the environment, inflation, healthcare premiums, income inequality, a tax system that favors the wealthy, workers’ rights, protecting the rule of law and democratic institutions, and Trump’s willingness to use the military without congressional authorization. Not surprisingly, many speakers touched on the Epstein files, demanding that Pam Bondi prosecute the men who engaged in sexual relations with minors.

Because the speakers kept highlighting the same issues, the speeches quickly grew tedious. I couldn’t wait for the evening to end. The organizers should have assigned each speaker a single issue to cover. Doing so would have shortened the evening while increasing its impact. The Democrats were apparently trying to one-up Trump’s decision to deliver the longest State of the Union in history.

Even though all the Republicans were safely ensconced inside the Capitol, the Trump acolytes managed to troll the Democrats. I am not completely sure, but I suspect Speaker Johnson or one of his minions ordered the lights that normally illuminate the Capitol dome to be dimmed, thereby denying the Democrats a majestic backdrop for their event.

Walking past the Department of Labor earlier in the week, I was surprised that the fascist portrait of Trump that had been draped from the building was gone. As I left the People’s State of the Union, I noticed that the banner had been rehung, although it was not illuminated.

Going forward, I would advise the Democrats to avoid doing battle with Trump when he is bathed in the ceremonial power of the presidency while they improvise what they hope will be a competitive response. Tonight, the Democrats were pissing in the wind.

[Postscript: I reviewed the web the day after the People’s State of the Union. The event did not register with the media. I saw no coverage of it in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Wall Street Journal. I also reviewed broadcast and cable television websites for video clips. None were to be found.]

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]