Trump calls out Dems to their faces for refusing to stand in support of non-partisan success
Congressional Democrats’ refusal to stand during non-partisan portions of Trump’s March 4, 2025, address—honoring crime victims’ families, a young boy battling cancer, and military heroes—was a strategic and moral misstep. It projected insensitivity, ceded emotional resonance to Trump, and risked alienating voters who value empathy over ideology.
While intended as a protest against Trump’s leadership, it ironically deepened the partisan chasm, handing him a symbolic win at a moment when Democrats, diminished in power, needed to reclaim a broader appeal. Their silence spoke louder than intended, but not in their favor.
“This is my fifth such speech to Congress. And once again I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile are applaud, nothing I can do. I can find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime into the lowest levels ever recorded and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it no matter what. Five times I’ve been up here. It’s very sad and it just shouldn’t be this way.
[Applause]
So Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America. For the good of our nation let’s work together and lets truly make America great again.”
[Applause]
So Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America. For the good of our nation let’s work together and lets truly make America great again.”