Trump casually muses about 'treasonous' Democratic congressmen who won't clap for him

In a speech Monday, President Trump calmly accused Democratic congressmen of treason for their conduct at the State of the Union address last week. The president was particularly peeved that Democrats did not applaud when he took responsibility for record lows in African-American and Hispanic unemployment.

"[Democrats] would rather see Trump do badly ... than our country do well," Trump complained. "[It's] un-American. Somebody said treasonous," he continued. And then he shrugged: "I mean, yeah, I guess, why not?"

The president gestured to the crowd and asked again, "Can we call that treason? Why not?" As the audience responded with scattered applause, Trump added: "I mean, [Democrats] certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump's accusation comes only six days after he delivered his first State of the Union address, where he encouraged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to find "common ground." Watch video of Trump's remarks below. Kelly O'Meara Morales