People's State Of The Union Draws More Than Two Dozen Democrats, Hundreds to National Mall
Dozens of lawmakers and hundreds of protesters gathered on the National Mall for the people's state of the union counter‑rally, turning away from the House chamber and framing the night as a direct rebuke of the president’s agenda. The demonstration matters now because organizers timed the event to begin about an hour before the presidential address and it drew significant online viewership, highlighting coordinated opposition on and off the Mall.
People's State Of The Union on the National Mall
Progressive groups MeidasTouch and MoveOn. org hosted the People's State Of The Union on the National Mall, an event that featured federal workers, immigrants and others portrayed as affected by presidential policies. The gathering kicked off about an hour before the president’s speech was scheduled to begin and involved hundreds of people on site; organizers described a turnout that included more than two dozen to about 30 Democratic members of Congress who declined to attend the speech inside the House chamber.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen and a corrected identification
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen was among lawmakers at the Mall. A correction issued in earlier text acknowledged he had been misidentified as a congressman and that the record has been corrected. Van Hollen wrote on X that “Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy, ” framing his choice to attend the rally as a refusal to treat the moment as business as usual.
Sen. Chris Murphy introduces immigrant advocate Fereshteh Ganjavi
Sen. Chris Murphy, D‑Conn., said he did not attend the State of the Union because “these are not normal times” and argued the speech would not reflect what he called the true state of the nation. Murphy introduced Afghan refugee and immigrant advocate Fereshteh Ganjavi from the stage. During Murphy’s remarks a Trump supporter pushed through barricades and confronted him; an organizer pulled the heckler off stage while the crowd booed. Host Joy Reid addressed the interruption directly, telling the crowd, “Attention all Maga trolls: your bullshit is not welcome here, ” and stressing the event’s focus on impacted people.
Summer Lee, Epstein files and proposed impeachment action
Representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania took the stage amid chants of “Release the files!” and a nearby protester holding a sign reading “Release ALL the Files. ” Lee described what she called a government that would rather protect powerful people in the Epstein files than victims, and earlier announced she would introduce articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi for refusing to comply with a subpoena to release the full unredacted Epstein files. The impeachment announcement was presented as an official action tied to the rally’s broader demands for transparency and accountability.
Protests, chants, visuals and online reach
Attendees held signs reading “No Money for ICE” and “Healthcare Not Warfare, ” and chanted “Abolish ICE!” One person onstage displayed a large poster with photographs of more than 30 people who organizers said had been killed in dealings with ICE since the president took office in 2025. Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi — described onstage as targeted by the administration for deportation in 2025 — initiated a chant that grew into “The people united will never be defeated” more than two hours into the rally. Speakers repeatedly urged civic engagement ahead of the November midterm elections, and one attendee shouted, “Voting is our superpower. ”
Other lawmakers, celebrities and audience numbers
An early list circulating of roughly 30 lawmakers who would boycott the president’s address included Sen. Chris Murphy, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (rendered in some lists as Chris Von Hollen), Sen. Adam Schiff of California and Rep. Greg Casar of Texas. Politicians and celebrities gathered at related venues in Washington that evening, including the National Press Club where Robert De Niro and Mark Ruffalo were present. Liz Cattaneo, a MoveOn spokesperson, said just before 9pm ET that an estimated 220, 000 people were watching the event live on YouTube and other platforms.
The people's state of the union rally combined on‑the‑ground protest, high‑profile political participation and substantial digital viewership in a coordinated show of opposition. The timing matters because organizers synchronized presence on the Mall and online distribution to amplify a counter‑narrative to the presidential address.
