Democrats Plan to Take Page Out of Marjorie Taylor Greene's Playbook During Trump Congress Speech

President Donald Trump is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, where he is expected to give his recommendations on how to advance his agenda to the legislative branch. And as Congress remains deeply divided, some Democrats are preparing to play a disruptive role in the event, à la Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Concretely, Democrats are planning to use different options to protest the president's ideas, insiders told Axios, a move that, however, has been criticized by some party leaders.

"The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way— productively— to express our outrage," one House Democrat told the outlet.

The protesting ideas include walking out of the chamber when Trump says specific lines they find objectionable, such as criticism of transgender kids. Other actions could include bringing signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages, empty egg cartons to highlight how inflation is driving up the price of eggs, pocket constitutions to make the case Trump has been violating the document, hand clappers, red cards and other props.

These tactics have been discouraged by rank-and-file Democrats, in large part based on what they've heard back in their districts. "There are definitely a lot of constituents that really want Democrats to disrupt and there are... constituents who feel like that just plays into his hands," one House Democrat said.

This isn't the first time Democrats have shown their discontent during Trump's congressional addresses. In fact, throughout his first term, Democratic resistance became prominent, with lawmakers booing, chanting and walking out at times. Many also chose outfits and invited guests to make a point. Most famously, in 2020, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up a copy of Trump's speech while seated directly behind him on the dais.

But if they do ramp up their protesting tactics, Democrats will be taking a page right out of one of their most vocal opponent's book— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

Most notably, during President Biden's 2024 State of the Union address, he sparred with Greene, who has a history of interrupting these addresses, about crimes committed by undocumented migrants.

The representative, who wore a bright red "Make America Great Again" hat and pins shouted at the then-president about the politically-charged case of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was murdered by a Venezuelan undocumented Migrant. Greene yelled at Biden that Riley "was killed by an illegal."

"An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right," Biden said to Greene, pausing his prepared remarks, and using a term to refer to the migrant that is favored by Republicans and criticized by many Democrats.

But while the party can't seemingly agree on how to protest the president's remarks, one thing remains true— Democrats still want to make a presence.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to House Democrats that he and other leaders plan to attend the speech to "make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance."

Jeffries also said leadership understands if some members skip the speech— as several have said they plan to do— but urged a "strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber."