More Democrats to Ditch Trump’s SOTU Address

NEW POLL: Virginia Voters Lean Against Redistricting

$1 Billion on the Line as Supreme Court Could Rewrite US–Cuba Lawsuits

‘They Never Say Thank You’: Mamdani and California Want to Take More and More From Rich

Laken Riley’s Mother Gives Emotional Message to Trump

Trump Administration Keeps Vast Number of Guns From Mexican Cartels

Why Are Anti-ICE Activists Building Borders?

EXCLUSIVE: Heritage Says States Should Charge Tuition to Illegal Alien Children

 InternationalCommentary

Cracking Down on China’s Trade Cheating the Right Way

Time for Denmark and the United States to Secure Greenland

Daughter Pleads for Father’s Release From Chinese Prison 

What to Expect in PLA Activities Near Taiwan Leading Up to Trump and Xi Summit

NEW POLL: Virginia Voters Lean Against Redistricting

The Elephants in the Room at Trump’s SOTU

Markets Offer Unusual Bets on State of the Union

Noem Uses Unique Tool to Pressure Democrats on DHS Funding Deal 

More States Moving to Close Election Funding Loophole Few Voters Knew Existed

ACLU Looks to Dismantle Ohio Election Integrity Law

Largest ‘Precinct’: Why Some Mail Ballots Travel Across State Lines Before Counting Begins

Schumer Vows to Fight Supposed ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ Bill With Policy 83% of Americans Support

‘War Was Visited Upon These People’: Play About Oct. 7 Comes to DC

Are Americans Being Radicalized Online and Converting to Islam?

International Analysis

Why Is the Iran Regime on the Verge of Collapse?

Trump Envoy Announces Next Phase of Gaza Peace Plan 

Meet the People Fueling Chaos in Minneapolis, New York, and Beyond 

OH BABY! Couples Could Make Big Money on Trump Accounts

What Comes Next for Venezuela? State Department Official Explains

ICE Operations: What Americans Actually Want  

‘They Never Say Thank You’: Mamdani and California Want to Take More and More From Rich

Glib Barista AOC’s Ignorance Front and Center at Munich Security Conference

The New Democratic Socialist Party Is a ‘Graveyard of Bad Ideas’

International Commentary

Victor Davis Hanson: Rubio Tells Europe What It Needs to Hear

More Democrats to Ditch Trump’s SOTU Address

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks at a press conference on April 30, 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a journalism fellow at The Daily Signal. Send an email to Pedro.

Mode Democrats are joining a boycott of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Sen. Ruben Gallego recently joined the ranks of Democrat lawmakers over the weekend.

“I am not going to the state of the union,” Gallego said in a video posted to social media on Saturday. “There’s more productive things than I can do with my time than just sitting there for two hours and clapping on cue. Right now, this country is hurting.”

Instead, the senator will be at home in Arizona during the address.

I’m not going to State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/xNxu6An06p— Senator Ruben Gallego (@SenRubenGallego) February 20, 2026

I’m not going to State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/xNxu6An06p

Schiff’s participation in the Boycott was also announced on Saturday. MeidasTouch wrote on X that Schiff will instead speak at the “People’s State of the Union,” a counter address hosted by the news outlet and progressive aligned non-profit MoveOn Civic Action.

Democrat Sen Adam Schiff announces he won't be attending Trump's State of the Union because Trump is "violating the law and Constitution" by deporting criminal illegal aliens who r*pe and terrorize Americans. pic.twitter.com/uBBcp3yng3— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 23, 2026

Democrat Sen Adam Schiff announces he won't be attending Trump's State of the Union because Trump is "violating the law and Constitution" by deporting criminal illegal aliens who r*pe and terrorize Americans. pic.twitter.com/uBBcp3yng3

Democrats announcing their boycott the State of the Union comes after progressive-aligned organizations, like Amplify Edge’s “Young People Address the Nation” campaign, pressured Democratic lawmakers last week to boycott the address.

Schiff and Gallego have not responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment. As the boycott grows, the left-leaning sports and political commentator Stephen A. Smith has come out against Democrat theatrics.

Smith said on his SiriusXM radio show that the Democrat’s refusal to attend the address “ticks him off,” calling them “juvenile.”“Why do they get to circumvent the need and the insistence of mere decorum? This is the kind of stuff that ticks me off,” Smith stated. “At some point in time, ladies and gentlemen, there’s got to be an adult in the room.”

?NEW: Stephen A. Smith *UNLOADS* on Democrats planning to boycott Trump's State of the Union address?"This is the kind of stuff that ticks me off!"@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/VwnoIv5x6O— Jason Cohen ?? (@JasonJournoDC) February 19, 2026

?NEW: Stephen A. Smith *UNLOADS* on Democrats planning to boycott Trump's State of the Union address?"This is the kind of stuff that ticks me off!"@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/VwnoIv5x6O

“If you’re going to act as juvenile, as petulant, as petty as you accuse president of the United States to be, how are you ever going to hold a high moral ground at least high enough to judge him accordingly?” Smith added.

During Trump’s address to Congress last year, some Democrats tried to steal the show. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, interrupted the speech with shouts and gestures several times before he was removed from the chamber.

Schiff’s RSVP to the event hosted former MSNBC anchors Joy Reid and Katie Phang, comes after 12 of his Congressional colleagues, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md; Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; and the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, announced last week that they would not “legitimize” Trump’s “lies.”

“Donald Trump will use the State of the Union address as a platform to gaslight the American people and normalize and justify their terror, abuse, and violations of our rights. I refuse to legitimize it,” Ramirez stated in a release.

A Gen Z activist group is urging members of Congress “who consider themselves defenders of democratic institutions” to boycott Trump’s State of the Union, according to a call to action obtained by The Daily Signal.@pedrobrodrigue7 https://t.co/8qoTLb7kN2— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) February 18, 2026

A Gen Z activist group is urging members of Congress “who consider themselves defenders of democratic institutions” to boycott Trump’s State of the Union, according to a call to action obtained by The Daily Signal.@pedrobrodrigue7 https://t.co/8qoTLb7kN2

Van Hollen added on X that this “cannot be business as usual” because “Trump is marching America towards fascism.”

SOTU Boycott Urged by Gen Z Activist Group

White House to Address Congress’ Venezuela Questions

7 Historic Moments From State of the Union Addresses

Read the first chapter of The Woketopus right now for FREE

Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government.

The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.

In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.

You can read the first chapter of this new book for FREE in this eBook, The Woketopus: Chapter One using the secure link below.

The Tony Kinnett Cast

The Daily Signal Podcast

© 2025 The Daily Signal Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

We use cookies on our website. By using our website, you consent to cookies.  Learn More .  

© The Daily Signal