Lawmakers and other anti-Trump activists are hoping to grab the spotlight ahead of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday.
On what is expected to be a frigid night in the nation’s capital, members of Congress will join anti-Trump activists at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, D.C. for the “State of Our Union” event.
The Detroit Free Press reported:
The goal is to offer a different view and vision for the country at the counter event at the National Press Club, addressing gender inequalities in America today and confronting the president’s agenda.
It is organized by activists Ai-Jen Poo of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Tarana Burke, who started the #MeToo movement more than a decade ago and is now senior director of Girls for Gender Equity, and Mónica Ramírez, deputy director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.
Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood, Kristin Rowe Finkbeiner of MomsRising and Arisha Hatch of Color of Change also helped organized the event, according to the Free Press.
Poo, Hatch, and Richards are expected to give a response to Trump’s address.
“We hope that the message to the American public is that women are uniting across communities, across industries, and we are building our momentum and our power straight into the 2018 elections,” Poo said in the Free Press article.
“It’s a very important election year, and we want women everywhere and voters everywhere to feel energized and mobilized to get involved,” Poo said.
“We really hope that the message comes across: The women of this country will not be divided,” Poo said.
Those scheduled to speak at the event include survivors of sexual assault, domestic and farm workers, and illegal aliens – or so-called Dreamers.
Lawmakers who will speak include Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Barbara Lee (D-CA)
“The idea for this act of resistance to the president came after the Golden Globes, as activists began to talk about boycotting the State of the Union, but still drive a national women’s rights movement,” the Free Press reported.
Anti-Trump protesters are also planning to gather along the route that the presidential motorcade will take from the White House to the United States Capitol.
A Facebook page event invites protesters to gather on the streets of D.C.
“Building on the momentum of the tens of thousands that showed up for the anniversary of the Women’s March, the State of the Union brings the opportunity to show the President first-hand — where he can SEE us — how many people oppose his awful governance of the country,” the Facebook page said.
The Facebook page said that some 400 people have signed up to attend the protest.
“Bring your signs and dress warm!” the Facebook page states.
A third event is scheduled to take place outside of Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., organized by the left-wing, women’s rights group UltraViolet.
The group is calling on Congress to investigate “the 20 sexual assault and harassment allegations against the president,” but the protest announcement distributed to the press does not provide details or documentation to verify its claim.
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