On Tuesday night, as Townhall has been covering, President Donald Trump's well-received remarks before a joint session of Congress were initially disrupted by theatrics from Democratic members. The drama continues, especially when it comes to censuring Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who had to be removed shortly after Trump's speech started. The further fallout may be even worse.
Green's interruption was certainly noteworthy, especially as the House voted to censure him on Thursday and he and other Democratic members may even be stripped of their committee assignments. Once he was removed, though, Democrats still made fools of themselves during Trump's speech. When they weren't verbally heckling, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) issued plenty of warnings about, they were holding up pitiful signs tantamount to playing bingo or appearing at an auction. They also notably refused to stand for emotional and heartwarming moments mentioned by the president.
Who was mocking those signs? Conservatives like Ben Shapiro in his column for Townhall on Thursday morning certainly were, but it was also Democrats, including Symone Sanders-Townsend, a strategist who is taking over Joy Reid's timeslot on MSNBC and who used to work for Kamala Harris when she was vice president.
Sanders-Townsend posted her horror to X throughout Tuesday night.
Why are democrats just sitting there? The signs are not landing. It is giving bingo! Sigh.
— Symone D. Sanders Townsend (@SymoneDSanders) March 5, 2025
"B42. B42...BINGO!"
— Symone D. Sanders Townsend (@SymoneDSanders) March 5, 2025
They are not taking back the house with these visuals. https://t.co/Ry6tTiIysJ
She, along with Never Trumper Michael Steele, also chimed in on air later on Tuesday night to express horror over such a display. "The bingo signs were killing me," Steele declared, even insisting whoever thought them up "should be fired!"
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Sanders-Townsend was particularly animated, insisting it was "an indictment... on the Democratic leadership," also claiming that Democratic members and staffers were texting and calling her. She also reminded how Democratic leadership wanted members to attend, bring guests, and not cause interruptions.
"There is a palpable disgust... from not just the members, but their constituents," Sanders-Townsend said, lamenting that members didn't have enough of "a release valve."
"The visuals are not taking back the House in 2026, not these visuals!" She then shouted on air for visuals of those signs, with another panelist also mentioned the dry erase board that members like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) had.
After the panel predictably engaged in a game of whataboutism with members such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in response to then President Joe Biden's addresses, they also got into it trying to figure out what Democratic members should have done, with Steele offering suggestions of not showing up at all, or that Green's Democratic colleagues should have walked out with him.
Symone Sanders and Michael Steele HATED the Democrats' "bingo signs."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 5, 2025
SANDERS: "This is an indictment, in my opinion, on the Democratic leadership... The visuals are not taking back the House in 2026."
STEELE: "I don't know who thought up the bingo signs, but they should be… pic.twitter.com/oi89ZQBg4V
Clearly, the Democrats are in disarray in more ways than it may initially seem, especially if Sanders-Townsend was arguing that Democrats didn't actually do enough.
CNN's Manu Raju seemed to confirm this, sharing discontent from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), a particularly leftist member.
Pocan later told me: "I wasn't pissed at leadership. I was sharing the sentiment that our constituents are expressing and I share. This is awful stuff that could happen to people."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 5, 2025
It wasn't merely Democratic strategists and Never Trumpers, though. Even fellow Democrats were less than thrilled.
As mentioned, many Democrats couldn't be bothered to stand for moments such as when Trump honored DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old boy with brain cancer who was made an honorary member of the Secret Service that night. At least one Democratic House member did stand, Rep. Lauren Gillen. She's a freshman representing New York's 4th Congressional District, who managed to flip the seat after it was previously held by Republican Rep. Anthony P. D'Esposito. The House races out of New York last November could very well have been impacted by a court ruling on redistricting.
Gillen's district is a swing district, and she clearly wants to have a chance at getting reelected come 2026. At least she appears to be willing to play the game. She also posted about DJ from both of her X accounts.
Donald Trump just made a young boy with brain cancer — whose dream it is to become a police officer — an agent of the Secret Service ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8q1re1PuFG
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 5, 2025
DJ Daniel’s story truly moved me, and I applaud @POTUS for highlighting it during last night’s #JointAddress.
— Laura Gillen (@LauraAGillen) March 5, 2025
His fight is bigger than party politics, and I know Long Islanders across the political spectrum join me in recognizing his bravery and resilience.…
I was deeply moved by DJ Daniels’ story and thank @POTUS for sharing it during last night’s #JointAddress. I was disappointed that more of my colleagues didn’t join me in honoring DJ’s tenacity and courage — his fight rises above the level of petty politics. pic.twitter.com/bqn8nOmfvN
— Congresswoman Laura Gillen (@RepLauraGillen) March 5, 2025
Senate Democrats were also less than thrilled, with Raju talking to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Although he said he "understand[s] the emotion," Blumenthal argued Democrats "needed to provide real solutions and avoid taking the bait."
Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) also criticized the lack of "a conscious strategy" and argued that there are "better ways to" respond to Trump's speech than how many Democrats reacted.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) stressed a need for "decorum," though he still called out Trump's speech for daring to go after Democratic members who were right there in the chamber.
Senate Dems ding their House Dem colleagues over antics at Trump's speech, including Rep. Al Green, who is now facing a censure vote in the House.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 5, 2025
Blumenthal: "I wouldn’t have necessarily done all the things that were done, but I understand the emotion...(Trump is) offering… pic.twitter.com/GP16TCgKbw
Blumenthal, Durbin, and Booker are all lucky enough to be from bright blue states. Democrats in swing states and districts could find themselves facing some problems come the 2026 midterms, especially if they keep it up with their ridiculous messaging and don't improve on their record low approval ratings, per Quinnipiac University's recent polls from last month and late January.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is not up for reelection until 2028 but nevertheless represents a purple state, had some words of disappointment in his fellow Democrats after Tuesday's performative tricks.
He's posted multiple times warnings for his fellow Democrats. One post, which he shared to both his political and official X account on Wednesday, even became a trending topic over X.
A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 5, 2025
It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.
We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message. pic.twitter.com/hNgX7ouLjX
This is when we became the party for chaos.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 4, 2025
Telling people to invalidate their eyes or experiences and WE LOSE.
Equivalent size of Pittsburgh showing up every month at our border was true chaos. pic.twitter.com/LaoH54D2an
