Protesters gathered

Members and protesters gathered in the cold to push back on Trump’s speech

‘These are not normal times.’

Irie Sentner

A few hundred people braved the cold to gather on the National Mall for a “People’s State of the Union,” joining about three dozen Democratic members of Congress who are boycotting Donald Trump’s address.

“I could not go and normalize this president when nothing that he has done has been normal, and in fact, he has been the most corrupt and authoritarian president in American history,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) told POLITICO.

That was the main talking point from the speakers tonight, who stood just blocks from the Capitol. “These are not normal times, and Democrats have to stop behaving normally,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), told the crowd. As he introduced his guest, Fereshteh Ganjavi, who he said entered the U.S. as a refugee more than a decade ago, a counterprotester leapt to the stage and shouted “They’re stuck at the border! Go Trump.”

Asked about the Democrats who did show up to the Capitol, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) told POLITICO “everyone needs to make their own decision for what makes sense for their district.” She said some of her Democratic colleagues wanted to attend to ensure Trump wasn’t just speaking to supporters, while others brought “really impactful guests,” including victims of Jeffrey Epstein, immigrants and people whose health insurance premiums have dramatically increased.

But it was clear to just about everyone in the shivering crowd that the turnout left something to be desired. “I thought there would be more people, and somebody said there were 400 people, but I don’t really see them,” said Zina Pelkey. A livestream of the protest at one point counted 146,000 viewers.

Still, Pelkey said she was glad she had ventured out in the cold. “We have a corrupt government that needs to be taken down, and we need to speak out. And the more people that do, the sooner it’ll come down,” she said. “I’m 83 and I have been protesting for a number of years, but this situation is worse than anything I ever imagined.”