Aziz from Kazakhstan urges President Trump to address private school funding and U.S.-Kazakhstan ties amid Russia’s regional threats, while Democrats boycott the State of the Union under Hakeem Jeffries’ silent protest rule. Alternate events like the "People's State of the Union" (Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley) and "State of the Swamp" (Jason Crow, Seth Moulton) clash with official proceedings, where Democrats invite Epstein accusers and Republicans bring a Uyghur doctor’s daughter to spotlight China’s human rights record. The U.S. hockey team also attends, but uncertainty lingers over Democratic speakers like Abigail Spanberger, revealing deep partisan divisions over messaging and priorities. [Automatically generated summary]
Democratic Responses to State of the Union00:07:22
Georgia.
What I'd like to hear the President talk about in the State of the Union is schooling, private schooling, what we could do to help America pay for it on a local basis, as opposed to having all our taxes go to regular schools.
My name is Aziz.
I'm from Kazakhstan.
So I want to hear about the international relationships, especially with my country, Kazakhstan.
We are playing a crucial role in Central Asia.
It's a very important region now, especially due to all the tension between Russia and other countries in this region.
I want to know what will be our relationship with the United States in the future.
C-SPAN's Voices, Delivering Democracy Unfiltered.
Be part of the conversation.
This evening, Democratic elected officials, celebrities, and political activists will be part of an event protesting President Trump's State of the Union address and the administration's policies.
We'll hear from former Trump officials as part of just one of a couple of protests we'll be covering.
From the National Press Club, watch live at 7 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN 3.
C-SPAN now, our free mobile video app, and online at c-span.org.
I want to introduce Emily Brooks, congressional reporter at The Hill, joining us this morning to talk about the congressional side of the State of the Union.
Emily, hi, thanks for joining us.
Thank you for having me.
All right, let's dive right in.
Members have been posting about whether or not they will be attending the State of the Union.
How many Democrats do you know are expected to skip or boycott this evening?
Well, we don't have an exact count yet, but the number is in the dozens.
You know, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, had told his members either attend and sit in silent defiance or boycott and go do something else that's off campus.
What he does not want is a repeat of last year when Democrats were holding up signs, being a distraction from President Trump's address, and having a bit of backlash on them.
You know, that kind of visible protest during the State of the Union risks looking poorly on Democrats.
And so that's why he was telling his members to either attend and sit silently or don't attend and protest.
But there are a number of other off-campus events going on that some Democrats are attending.
One of them is called a People's State of the Union, and many members are attending that rather than attend the President Trump's address.
Emily, you've been on the Hill for some time.
You said dozens of members so far are expected to skip.
How unique is that for multiple members of the opposition party on either side to just not show up to the State of the Union?
You know, I think we've seen it in the past.
We'll see exactly what the chamber looks like.
I think that the absence of members being in person at the State of the Union and not being in there at all, maybe having a lot of empty seats on the floor and showing how many Democrats are just refusing to listen at all would be a pretty big statement.
So we'll see if how much it's filled looks different than in previous years, but that could be a bigger message than any, you know, head shaking or silent defiance if members do show up.
So we'll see how big it ultimately ends up being.
You mentioned one of the Democratic alternative events that some of the members who are skipping the State of the Union will be attending.
How many official events are there that are going to be kind of alternate protest events to the State of the Union?
Well, we're tracking that one as the People's State of the Union.
It's on the National Mall.
There are a number of, you know, high-profile Democrats that are attending that, like Senators Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy.
And there's also an event at the National Press Club called the State of the Swamp.
You know, some members are going to the State of the Union and also that event.
So it's sort of hard to tell, but Representatives Jason Crow and Seth Moulton are expected to be at that state of the swamp event.
And so there might be some other alternative events.
I know that Don Beyer, a Democratic congressman for Northern Virginia area, said that he's meeting with constituents this evening rather than attending the State of the Union.
And so even if they're not at one of these official alternative events, Democrats could be doing their protests by not attending in some other ways.
Now let's talk about the guests that folks are bringing.
We still don't know exactly who the White House will be bringing, but members have been posting for days now about who they expect to bring to the chamber with them, those that are going.
Who are Democrats bringing?
Who have Republicans invited?
And what is the significance of the guests that members bring to the State of the Union?
Yeah, well, anytime that a member brings a guest to the State of the Union, it is a statement of not only maybe a constituent that they want to highlight.
That's often a guest that a member brings or a certain kind of industry or principle, but also, you know, these are political statements as well.
And we have seen a number of Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, say that they are inviting some high-profile accusers of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,
who, of course, the Epstein files disclosures and investigations into his activities and all of the people surrounding him have been a major point for Democrats that they want to highlight and that they have been continually tying to President Trump and his administration's handling of releasing these files pursuant to the law that he signed last year and their complaints about the delay in that.
And so that is a major statement for Democrats there.
And, you know, on the Republican side, we reported about Speaker Mike Johnson.
He's bringing a number of guests.
One of them that he's bringing is the daughter of a Uyghur doctor who has been detained in China for over seven years now.
And so that is a statement of Republican priorities and concern about China's influence and their human rights abuses and activities in the world.
And so we can expect to see a lot of guests along those lines.
Including the men's U.S. hockey team who the president invited in that phone call.
And I know people are excited for.
I wonder after the president speaks tonight, there obviously will be a Democratic response.
Democratic Responses Expected00:00:33
It doesn't seem that there'll just be one, there'll be multiple.
But who will be giving the official response and just how many are there?
You know, there's going to be a number of Democratic responses.
The name of it is escaping me of exactly who's giving the address tonight.
But, you know, these Democratic responses are a very big deal.
Yeah, I think it's Abigail Spanberger.
That's right.
That's Abigail Spanberger.
I couldn't remember if she was giving the official response.
She might be giving the official, but don't quote us.
But I think, I was like, I think it's Abigail Spamberger.