As President Donald Trump prepares to deliver his first major address to Congress since returning to the White House on Tuesday, Democrats are adjusting their response.
Unlike previous years, when Trump’s speeches were met with walkouts, protests, and dramatic moments — including then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi tearing up his 2020 State of the Union address — many Democrats now say they are opting for a different approach, according to Politico.
Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) told the outlet that the party is taking a more strategic stance than engaging in overt demonstrations.
“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,” Bera said.
Rather than focusing on Trump’s rhetoric, Democrats plan to use the speech to highlight the real-world consequences of his policies. Several lawmakers told Politico that they are bringing guests impacted by the administration’s agenda, including union leaders and federal workers affected by budget cuts under the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.
Internal guidance encourages Democratic lawmakers to emphasize how Trump’s policies benefit billionaires while harming everyday Americans. The memo advises members to invite guests who have suffered under the administration’s policies and to unify around the message that “Democrats are on the side of the American people while Trump and Republicans in Congress stand with Elon Musk and billionaire donors.”
Unlike during Trump’s first term, when some Democrats staged boycotts of his speeches, Politico reports that there appears to be no widespread effort to skip the event. Some lawmakers believe attending is a more effective way to show opposition.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said it is important for viewers to “see a significant presence of us there,” signaling resistance without outright protest.
Still, not all Democrats agree. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), whose district includes many federal employees, said he would not attend, citing the event’s predictable nature.
“The notion of half my colleagues rising and standing and enormous clapping for … things that I think are terrible for the American people every couple minutes will not be funny,” Beyer explained. “I don’t see that I’ll contribute anything to the event.”
While the speech is not officially a State of the Union address, it will follow many of the same traditions. Politico notes that Trump is expected to use the moment to tout his administration’s agenda, dismantle Democratic policies, and create viral moments to energize his supporters.
Democrats have tapped Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) to deliver the official response, a choice that signals an emphasis on economic issues. Slotkin, who won a tough race last year in a state Trump carried, centered her campaign on middle-class concerns. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) will give the Spanish-language response, while Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) will deliver a progressive rebuttal on behalf of the Working Families Party.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insisted that Trump must answer key questions in his speech, including: “Why has he failed to do anything to lower the high cost of living in the United States of America, and why has the Trump administration unleashed far-right extremism on the American people in a way that represents an assault on the American way of life?”
Moving Forward, Redefining the Democratic Brand
Beyond the speech, Democrats are grappling with broader questions about their party’s strategy moving forward.
A recent retreat in Loudoun County, Virginia, brought together moderate Democratic consultants, campaign staffers, and elected officials to assess why the party struggled in November and how to regain its footing.
According to the published report, participants at the retreat identified several key missteps, including weak messaging, overreliance on identity politics, and a failure to connect with working-class voters. The discussions focused on how to recalibrate the party’s approach, including:
• Emphasizing patriotism, community, and traditional American values
• Engaging directly with working-class voters outside of elite circles, including at tailgates, gun shows, local diners, and churches
• Owning the failures of Democratic leadership in large cities and committing to meaningful reforms
• Building a stronger, more relatable Democratic media presence, including through podcasts, social media, and cultural platforms like sports broadcasting
Third Way’s Matt Bennett, one of the retreat organizers, said the meeting revealed growing frustration with the party’s direction.
“In the wake of this election, where it became so evident that the things that the left was doing and saying deeply hurt Harris and down-ballot Democrats, a lot of people are looking to us, not just Third Way, but the moderates in the party, and saying, ‘We got to do it your way, because the other way ain’t working,’” Bennett said.
Bennett also pointed to a disconnect between how Democratic leaders discuss the economy and how voters experience it.
With Trump back in power, moderates in the party reportedly see an opportunity to redefine the
Democratic brand, moving away from ideological purity tests and toward a message that resonates more broadly. How Democrats handle Trump’s speech on Tuesday could serve as an early indicator of the party’s evolving approach.
“I think what we discussed there on economic issues was the profound disconnect that we saw between the way that leading Democrats were talking about the economy and the way that people were actually experiencing it,” Bennett said
Democrats meed to stop discussing things and do something QUICK. Talk talk talk no action????