 panned 's first prime-time  since returning to the White House as reaction to the address revealed a country still deeply split on political lines and an opposition party unsure of how to deal with his radical agenda.

The Democrats’ exclusion from the corridors of powers – Democrats are in the minority in both the  and  – has left them with limited options on how to effectively respond to Trump’s hardline 1hr 40min oration that amounted to a celebration of his purported achievements during his six weeks back in office.

Some of the party’s rising stars, including Chris Murphy, a vocal senator from Connecticut, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive representative from New York, protested by staying away.

Those who attended showed their displeasure by turning their backs on Trump as he spoke and holding up placards with messages like “No kings”, “Save Medicaid” and “Musk steals” in reference to the leading government cost-cutting role being played by the billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The protest was disparagingly compared to bingo signs by one normally sympathetic commentator, Symne Sanders-Townsend, a host on the MSNBC channel.

“Why are democrats just sitting there? The signs are not landing. It is giving bingo! Sigh,” she  on X.

The audience of silent, grim-faced  – some of them holding Ukrainian flags or wearing garments in the country’s colours – provided Trump with the perfect prop to troll them in real time.

“I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do,” Trump said. “These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.”

But Democrat displeasure was not all passive.

Some members shouted “January 6” – in reference to the 2021 Trump-inspired attack by a violent mob on the US Capitol – when the president vowed to impose “law and order” and extolled the police.

The most assertive act of , a member of Congress from Texas, who was escorted from the chamber on the order of the House speaker, Mike Johnson, after loudly heckling Trump and telling him he had no mandate.

Afterwards, Green, 77, who is preparing articles of impeachment against Trump, told reporters that his expulsion was “worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up”.

A more measured Democratic reaction came from Elissa Slotkin, a senator from Michigan who was chosen to deliver the party’s official response, having won her seat last November in a traditional election battleground state where Trump narrowly defeated Kamala Harris, the Democrat presidential candidate.

Slotkin, a former CIA officer, lambasted Trump’s apparent betrayal of Ukraine, and said Ronald Reagan, a Republican predecessor, would be “rolling in his grave” at the president’s deference to Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.

“President Trump loves to promise ‘peace through strength’,” she said in a televised address delivered from her Michigan home town of Wyandotte. That’s actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan. But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling over in his grave.

“As a cold war kid, I’m thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the cold war.”

Slotkin also attempted to rouse her Democratic colleagues against depressed apathy in the face of Trump’s aggressive agenda, while inspiring citizens fearful for the future of US democracy.

“I’ve lived and worked in many countries. I’ve seen democracies flicker out. I’ve seen what life is like when a government is rigged,” she said. “Don’t for one moment fool yourself that democracy isn’t precious and worth saving.”

Advising to resist a seemingly unrestrained Trump, she continued: “Don’t tune out. America needs you now more than ever. If previous generations had not fought for democracy, where would we be today? We all know that our country is going through something right now. We’re not sure what the next day is going to hold, let alone the next decade.



“But this isn’t the first time we’ve experienced significant and tumultuous change as a country. Every single time, we’ve only gotten through those moments because of two things: engaged citizens and principled leaders.”

Jasmine Crockett, a Democratic member of Congress from Texas, had earthier language while promising to take the fight to Trump, whom she called “really psychotic” for his stated desire during his speech to take over Greenland.

“Why are we fighting with Greenland?' she  Adam Mockler of the progressive . “We’re fighting with Canada, we’re fighting with Mexico, yet we’re in love with Putin? What is happening? This is not America. This is a terrible nightmare. Somebody slap me and wake me the fuck up because I’m ready to get on with it.”

This article was amended on 6 March 2025 to correct a misspelling of the surname of Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
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