(Casey Harper, The Center Square) U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., critiqued his own party Wednesday for its response to President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday evening.
Trump’s lengthy speech was peppered with interruptions from Democrats, who refused to clap for any of Trump’s comments with the exception of when he brought up funding for Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia.
Many Democrats held up what appeared to be bingo signs that had “false” and other words written on them. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., held up a white board that she could write responses on, moves that were mocked online and criticized even by some liberal pundits.
“A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance,” Fetterman said of his fellow lawmakers’ response. “It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to — and it may not be the winning message.”
Fetterman wasn’t the only Democrat to criticize the response of lawmakers on the left during Trump’s joint address to Congress.
“This is an indictment, in my opinion, on the Democratic leadership,” Democratic strategist and former Bernie Sanders aide Symone Sanders said on MSNBC after Trump’s speech. “The visuals are not taking back the House in 2026. Not these visuals … Oh my … it was crazy.”
As The Center Square previously reported, Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas stood up and began shouting at Trump only to be drowned out by Republican chants of “USA” and eventually escorted out of the chamber for refusing to be remain silent.
