State of The Union
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Texas Representative Al Green made a powerful protest during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address until being ejected.
On Tuesday (March 4), President Donald Trump began the first State of the Union address of his second term in office. The tense air in the chambers grew as Democratic Representative Al Green stood up just two minutes in and began to shout at Trump, pointing his cane. “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” he yelled. Republican congresspeople began to chant “U-S-A! U-S-A!” and clapped while yelling at Green to sit down. House of Representatives Majority Speaker Mike Johnson warned Green to sit down or be removed from the chambers, stating that members of Congress “are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the house and to cease any further disruptions.” When Green refused to sit, Vice President JD Vance made a “get out” motion with his thumb.
“Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the Sergeant-at-arms to restore order,” Johnson read from a sheet of paper, making the ejection official. “Remove this gentleman from the chamber!” Green was then led out as Republicans applauded. Outside, the 77-year-old Green spoke to reporters from C-SPAN. “I’ll accept the punishment. It’s worth it to let people know that there’s some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,” he said.
https://x.com/cspan/status/1897117558500700644
Green plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump over his comments about acquiring the Gaza Strip – the Houston-based politician initiated three unsuccessful attempts to impeach Trump during his first term. His protest was a contrast to reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic congressional leaders to attend and not cause any disruptions. Many who attended held up signs that read “Save Medicaid” and “Musk Steals.” referring to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts with DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency).
The protest visibly rattled Trump, as other Democratic congress members walked out at various points during his speech, which included fellow Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, and Florida Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost who was spotted wearing a black t-shirt with a message on the back that read, “No Kings Live Here.” Other Democratic lawmakers such as New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez chose not to attend the State of the Union address.
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George Santos, who was ousted from the House of Representatives, has announced that he’s running for Congress again.
On Thursday (March 7), as President Joe Biden was giving his State of the Union address, disgraced former Congressman George Santos was in attendance in the lower chamber. His presence prompted questions as to why he was there, and he answered them by declaring that he was running for Congress again in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
“Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick (LaLota) for the battle over #NY1,” Santos tweeted. “I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country.”
Santos became the third House member ever to be expelled by his peers last December after being indicted on 23 counts for multiple federal crimes including identity theft, money laundering and theft of public funds. A further investigation by the House Ethics Committee resulted in a 56-page report detailing the misuse of campaign funds totaling $50,000, which included purchases at Sephora, Hermes, and an OnlyFans subscription. Before that, Santos was revealed to have lied extensively about his background, including claiming to have worked at Goldman Sachs and having a grandparent who died in the Holocaust.
“Representative George Santos cannot be trusted. At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles,” the report said. At the time of his expulsion, Santos went on record saying, “To hell with this place.” A special election for his seat was held in February, with Democrat Tom Suozzi achieving victory.
The current Representative, Nick LaLota, is a first-time Congressman representing the district which is next door to the one Santos represented before his expulsion. The Suffolk County, Long Island, district has historically been a solidly Republican one in recent years. Santos filed with the Federal Election Commission, expressing intent to run in the GOP primary in June. In his post on X, LaLota responded:
“If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in.”
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President Joe Biden delivered his latest State of The Union (SOTU) address on Thursday (March 7) and the reactions have come in. As expected, folks on one side are praising President Biden while the other side is taking shots and it appears to be split down party lines.
President Joe Biden delivered what many analysts and observers called an impassioned SOTU address, which appealed to Biden’s base and sparked his detractors to make unfounded claims.
As past addresses have gone, the president is using the carefully orchestrated and televised moment to promote policies, rally the base, and do their best as the nation’s leader to call for collaboration and unity for the benefit of all.
It was another display of a lack of decorum and respect for Biden from Republican Party members in attendance, with some yelling out “liar” and other jabs similar to the responses President Barack Obama endured during these addresses.
Biden made several mentions of former president Donald Trump, who will presumably be his opponent in the presidential election this fall. This garnered sounds of dissatisfaction from Trump supporters, most especially when Biden said Trump failed his presidential duty to “care.”
At the top of the Democratic Party’s list of political concerns is abortion rights, and Biden let off a zinger that also got negative reactions from the Republican throng.
“With all due respect, justices, women are not without electoral or political power,” Biden said. “You’re about to realize just how much.”
Biden was also pointed in his words about the U.S.-Mexico border situation, a highly politicized matter in the era of Trump. Also was the matter of the president’s age, all while noting Trump just four years younger.
Because of the energy shown by President Joe Biden during the SOTU address, some made wild claims on X, formerly Twitter, that the president used Adderall and narcotics to achieve the feat. Adderall began trending on the social media network and we’ve got reactions under that trending topic and SOTU below.
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