At least a dozen Democrat lawmakers plan to boycott President Trump's State of the Union address next week, opting instead for an alternative event on the National Mall organized by progressive groups MoveOn and MeidasTouch. The counterprogramming, dubbed the "People's State of the Union," will be hosted by left-wing pundits Joy Reid and Katie Phang.

Five Senate Democrats and six House Democrats have confirmed their attendance at the rival gathering. Some Democrats who do show up to the actual address are expected to stage walkouts during the speech, the NY Post reported.

The elected officials skipping the president's address to Congress so they can attend an event organized by activist media and advocacy groups tells you everything about where the Democratic Party's center of gravity now sits. It isn't in the chamber. It's on the protest circuit.

The Boycott Roster

The Senate Democrats heading to the Mall instead of the Capitol include:

• Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
• Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
• Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
• Tina Smith (D-Minn.)
• Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

On the House side, Reps. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) are all confirmed for the alternative event.

Organizers say the rally will spotlight individuals affected by rising health care costs, the cost of living, and immigration. The framing is predictable. The venue choice is the point: stand outside the building where governing happens, and perform opposition for the cameras.

Walkouts and Theatrics

The boycotters won't be alone in making a statement. Rep. Jared Huffman of California told Axios he plans to attend the speech but not stay for all of it:

"The only question for me is which of his disgusting lines prompts me to get up and leave, because at some point I will."

Note the construction. Huffman hasn't heard the speech yet. He doesn't know what the president will say. But the walkout is already decided. The only variable is timing. This isn't principled dissent. It's choreography.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, to his credit, plans to be in the chamber. He told reporters Wednesday:

"My current plan is to attend. We're not going to Donald Trump's house. He's coming to our house. It's my view that you don't let anyone ever run you off of your block."

Jeffries understands something his colleagues apparently don't: abandoning the room means abandoning the argument. You can't claim to be the opposition if you're not present to oppose anything. An empty chair doesn't challenge power. It concedes relevance.

A Pattern, Not a Protest

This isn't new territory. Several Democrats boycotted Trump's 2025 joint session of Congress. Those who did attend were widely criticized for their behavior. Rep. Al Green of Texas was hauled out of the House chamber after waving his cane and shouting at the president. Other Democrat members waved paddles and wore protest pins. This, despite the fact that leadership had privately urged restraint beforehand.

The party learned nothing from it. Or rather, it learned the wrong lesson: that the base rewards spectacle over substance. So this year, they're scaling up. Instead of disrupting from inside the chamber, they've outsourced the whole production to MoveOn and a media outlet, complete with cable news hosts as emcees.

There's a pattern forming that extends well beyond the State of the Union. Democrats increasingly treat the institutions of government as stages for protest rather than forums for governing. Congressional hearings become viral moments. Floor speeches become TikTok auditions. And now the State of the Union, one of the few remaining civic rituals that forces both parties into the same room, becomes something to boycott in favor of a rally.

Who Benefits?

The question worth asking is simple: Who is this for? The Americans dealing with high grocery bills and rising insurance premiums that these Democrats claim to champion aren't tuning in to see which senator made it to the Mall rally. They're watching the State of the Union to hear what the president plans to do about it.

By walking out, the boycotting Democrats forfeit the one moment when the entire country might actually be watching Congress. They trade the largest audience of the year for a rally that will be covered, at best, as a sidebar. The signal they're sending isn't strength. It's that performing for the progressive base matters more than showing up to do the job.

Jeffries seems to grasp the politics here, even if his caucus doesn't. Showing up, sitting through a speech you disagree with, and making your case afterward is what adults in a republic do. Storming out on cue or skipping the event entirely to stand on the Mall with Joy Reid is what happens when a party mistakes content creation for governance.

The Real Audience

MoveOn and MeidasTouch didn't organize this event to change policy. They organized it to generate clips, fundraising emails, and social media engagement. The Democrat lawmakers lending their names and titles to it are serving as talent for progressive media infrastructure, not as legislators advancing an agenda.

That's the quiet truth beneath the noise. The Democrats boycotting the State of the Union aren't making Trump weaker. They're making themselves smaller. Every empty seat in the chamber is one less voice asking hard questions, one less face the camera catches during an applause line the opposition refuses to join.

You don't win arguments by leaving the room. You win them by staying, and making the better case. The Democrats heading to the Mall next week have decided they'd rather not try.