Democratic U.S. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania ripped his colleagues in the House for their reaction to President Donald Trump‘s speech Tuesday night.
Newsweek reached out to Fetterman’s office for comment via email on Wednesday night.
Why It Matters
Trump addressed Congress in his second term’s biggest speech since the inauguration of January 20. Minutes into his address, the president was met with Democratic resistance from the crowd, which ultimately led to U.S. Representative Al Green of Texas being removed from the House chamber.
What To Know
Reacting to House Democrats‘ behavior on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, Fetterman said, “A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message.”
Fetterman’s remarks came as the Republican-controlled House moved forward with plans to censure Green for disrupting the president’s speech. A vote on the censure is expected on Thursday.
Green was not the only member of his party to launch a visible protest during Trump’s address, with a significant number of Democratic lawmakers either boycotting the event or walking out of it while Trump was speaking.
David Axelrod, Democratic strategist who played a key role in former President Barack Obama‘s presidency, said that he thought “what Al Green did was despicable” during a CNN appearance shortly after the speech ended on Tuesday.
Other Democrats have praised the actions of Green and called for stronger protests against Trump and Republicans in Congress.
What People Are Saying
Conservative health policy expert Greg Fann, in a Wednesday post to X: “Well, well, well. I certainly didn’t have John Fetterman as the decorum leader for the Democrats, but here we are.”
Green, speaking from the House floor about his potential censure on Wednesday: “I did it with intentionality. The president indicated that he had a mandate. I said to the president, ‘You do not have a mandate to cut Medicaid.’ I have constituents who need Medicaid. They will suffer, and some will die, if they don’t get Medicaid … I stood up for my constituents then. I’m standing up for my constituents now … Friends, I would do it again.”
Democratic Congresswoman Yvette Clarke of New York, commenting on Republican criticism of Green in a post to X on Tuesday: “The same people who celebrate the January 6th insurrectionists as heroes want to talk to us about decorum in the Capitol. What a joke. Congressman Al Green is 10 times the patriot as any Republican in this room.”
What Happens Next
Trump is likely to continue receiving heavy criticism from Democrats, including the possibility of disruptions during future speeches, for the remainder of his second and final term in the White House.