Trump will look out at a sea of women during his State of the Union
"Horseface." "Unattractive both inside and out." "Nasty woman." Those are just a few of the insults President Trump has hurled at women over the years. But for the State of the Union on Tuesday, Democrats are preparing a "feminist statement" to contrast with the president's rhetoric, packing the House chamber — and his line of sight — with women, The Associated Press reports.
In addition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will sit over Trump's shoulder on camera, and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who is presenting the Democratic rebuttal, two former Trump employees, both of whom are women and immigrants and have spoken out against the president's hiring practices, will be looming in the gallery overhead as guests.
Additionally, many of the record number of women House members are planning to wear "suffragette white" to stand out, as they have in years past, in "a declaration that we will not go back on our hard-earned rights," according to Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the House Democratic Women's Working Group.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
For Democrats, a women-heavy audience is perhaps a particularly important visual as Trump is expected to "reaffirm his commitment to pro-life things," a Republican close to the White House told Politico.
"The American people elected a new Democratic Majority that would end the attacks on women's health care, and fight for preventive care for women," Pelosi said in a statement last month. "Strengthened by the millions of fearless women who continue to stand and march for their health care and rights, the House will fight to protect and build upon the promise of Roe v. Wade."
It won't be hard for Trump to miss which women she's talking about.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
6 homes with fall foliagefeature An autumnal orange Craftsman, a renovated Greek Revival church and an estate with an orchard
-
Musk wins $1 trillion Tesla pay packageSpeed Read The package would expand his stake in the company to 25%
-
Political cartoons for November 7Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include a party at Mar-a-Lago, a handy chart for ICE, the Republican train wreck and Nancy Pelosi's retirement
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
