Midterm battle lines drawn: Patriots vs. ‘Hateriots’

With President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech in the rearview mirror and midterm elections on the horizon, battle lines show two distinct sides: one that’s celebrating the nation’s successes and reveling in the upcoming 250th birthday; and the other side that is hell-bent on defying Trump, even if it means opposing proven measures that many see as having  brought peace and prosperity to the country. Tuesday night, Trump stood before the country and cataloged his first 13 months, full of Republican Party and campaign promises kept, everything from securing America’s southern border and achieving unprecedented peace deals to historic tax cuts and passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). 
“Shameful” sulking and shouting
In protest, Democrats spent the night either sulking as part of the joint session of Congress sitting before Trump, shouting at him, or presenting their own programming to counter the president’s message. None of the tactics appear to have been helpful to their party, as the key themes in their counter-events boiled down to recycled anti-Trump hysteria rather than forward-looking ideas.
In a disorganized display of petulance and political theater, Democrats’ presentation lacked any substantive policy vision and instead fixated on personal attacks, boycotts, and fringe grievances. House Speaker Mike Johnson lambasted the effort as “shameful,” pointing out that Democrats couldn’t even unify around a single response, opting instead for at least five scattered events that highlighted their internal divisions and inability to engage constructively. 
This fragmented approach was widely mocked as a symptom of “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” ultimately backfiring by making the SOTU chamber appear more like a Republican rally, as CNN analysts conceded it was a “fatal error” that amplified Trump’s strength while Democrats abdicated their seats.
Dozens of Democrats, including high-profile figures like Sens. Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Murphy, skipped the address entirely to attend rallies like the “People’s State of the Union” on the National Mall, which was organized by MoveOn Civic Action and anti-Trump MeidasTouch. 
Johnson argued this disenfranchised their constituents — each representing over 750,000 people — by refusing to show up for a core congressional duty, contrasting it with Republicans’ consistent attendance regardless of the president’s party. It was dismissed as immature obstructionism, with one conservative commentator noting it offered “nothing” beyond shutting down government functions.
Events like the “State of the Swamp” was a live rebuttal event organized by the anti-Trump group Defiance.org, in which people dressed up in blow-up frog costumes from the Portland Frog Brigade and criticized Trump’s address in real time.  
Clinging to Epstein and cries of racism
Several Democrats invited Jeffrey Epstein survivors as guests or highlighted related abuses, which detractors saw as a desperate attempt to smear Trump through guilt by association rather than addressing pressing national issues like the economy or borders. Inside the chamber, stunts like Rep. Al Green’s sign protesting a racist meme were quickly shut down, reinforcing the image of Democrats as disruptive rather than dignified.
In the official rebuttal, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger accused Trump of lying about economic gains and imposing harmful tariffs, but this was ridiculed as ignoring positive indicators like low unemployment and growth under his administration. Delivery issues also plagued the response. Spanberger briefly appeared to lose her place on the teleprompter, causing a noticeable stumble where she repeated or hesitated on phrases involving ceding power to Russia and China, mixing up the rivals in her delivery.
Counter-rallies pushed themes of affordability and opposition to Trump’s “unpopular agenda,” yet from a skeptical viewpoint, these rang hollow given Democrats’ recent midterm positioning and failure to propose alternatives beyond vague calls for “turning toward each other.” Progressives like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were called out for heckling, further painting the party as unprofessional.
The counter-programming was derided as a “tired playbook” of division and deflection, with no cohesive message beyond hating Trump — proving Johnson’s point that Democrats “have nothing to offer” and prefer spectacle to substance. This not only failed to land punches but inadvertently boosted Trump’s optics in a half-empty chamber dominated by enthusiastic GOP support.

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