Members of the Congressional Black Caucus staged a silent protest during President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address to Congress in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
The Black Caucus members wore vibrant African kente cloth and black clothing to protest President Trump’s infamous “shithole” comments about developing third world countries.
Members of the Black Caucus wore traditional kente cloths draped over their shoulders. They stood in silent protest as President Trump addressed the nation for the first time as U.S. president.
President Trump has denied using the expletive to describe impoverished nations such as Haiti, El Salvador and parts of Africa.
During Trump’s first State of the Union Address he called for unity between the Republican and Democratic parties. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The Black Caucus and other Democrats refused to clap during Trump’s speech.
“I know [Democrats] aren’t happy with Trump policies, but i can’t see how it is a good look to refuse to applaud good economic news,” tweeted The Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberley Strassel.
Trump also took credit for low unemployment rates and an improved U.S. economy.
“Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone,” he said. “After years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages.”
Lawmakers applauded as first lady Melania Trump, 47, entered the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives wearing a white pantsuit with a silk blouse.
Democrat and Republican lawmakers wore all black to show solidarity for the #MeToo movement, and many female lawmakers wore RECY pins to honor the activist Recy Taylor, who died last month at age 97.
Recy Taylor, who is black, was gang-raped as a young wife and mother by six white men in Alabama.
Lawmakers also wore Time’s Up pins to pay homage to the #TimesUp movement.
A handful of lawmakers, including Georgia Rep. John Lewis and Calif. Rep. Maxine Waters, boycotted Trump’s speech.
Waters spoke during Angela Rye’s post-analysis of Trump’s State of the Union Address on the BET Network on Tuesday night.
Read the full transcript of President Trump’s SOTU speech here.
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
