1- Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, heckles President Donald Trump as he delivered his address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
2- US Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) holds a "Musk Steals" protest sign with fellow Democrats as US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025.
Years ago, when I worked at a major PR firm in Manhattan, our team came up with a gimmick to get on the Today show for a major client who sold color printers, which was a big deal 27 years ago.
We made paddles with pics of the hosts, Matt Lauer, Katie Couric and Al Roker on them, and passed them out to the crowd assembled outside the Today studio window in Rockefeller Plaza. When Al came out to do the weather, I was standing front and center, and he approached me, and asked me, live on-air, why everyone had the face paddles, “I just printed all of those out using my new Hewlett-Packard colored printer,” I boasted. “I smell a plug,” Al said with some disdain.
It worked, but it was a silly stunt, and that’s what the Democrats' use of their childish and wimpish paddle signs looked like last night when they flashed them during Donald Trump’s presidential speech. I was horrified, and kept thinking about how they were making fools of themselves like I made a fool of myself with Al Roker.
Stephen Colbert was also not pleased with the Democrats foolish antics. “By quietly dissenting… or bidding on an antique tea set, it was hard to tell what was going on,” he said in his show after the speech.
To me, it looked like they were on the Newlywed Game, as they dithered about deciding which paddle to flash for the audience. As a lifelong PR guy, I thought it made them look like a bunch of dolts.
The other thing was the pink. Some women Democratic lawmakers wore the color as a protest. Nichola D. Gutgold, a communications professor at Penn State and who is the author of Electing Madam Vice President, told CNN, “I think it minimizes women when they dress alike, especially in a color like hot pink associated with Barbie.”
Gutgold added: “I don’t think it comes across as a strong political statement.”
Democrats, here’s a message for you: Our democracy is dying, withering away rapidly. Why didn’t you dress all in black and demonstrate to the American people the severity and darkness of the situation? It would have proved that you weren’t tone-deaf to what’s going on.
Last night, the Democrats looked frivolous and spineless. Take a page out of Texas Rep. Al Green’s book, who came ready for a protest, and literally raised cane when he took on Trump four minutes into that horrid speech. When Green started talking back, waving his cane, I stood up and started talking back at the TV. “Let him have it, Al” I egged on Green.
I did not want Green to sit down. If Speaker Mike Johnson — who looked like an immature child nodding heartily at everything Trump said last night — was going to have the House Sergeant at Arms kick Green out, then I wanted Green to keep shouting until that happened. And that’s exactly what he did.
And then, I thought, “This is it! This is what the Democrats will do all night!” I thought for sure that going forward, they would take turns interrupting, fighting back, preventing Trump from speaking, from telling all his lies, and from preaching autocracy. I had watched all the pre-shows before Trump’s speech as pundits wrestled with how Democrats might respond. And here was the answer. They were all going to follow Green’s lead.
And the next thing you know, a lawmaker stood up, and then disappointingly flashed a paddle that said, “Musk Steals.” Really? Is Musk stealing? I had no idea. Then she sat back down, and fiddled with her paddles about what earth-shattering one she’d flash next, “Save Medicaid,” or “Protect Veterans.” Wow, why didn’t I think of that?
Green’s brave confrontation was the only sign of life exhibited by Democrats last night. While he looked triumphant and brave, the rest of them looked listless, lifeless, and clueless. And because there was no unison in those trashy paddles, they looked like they couldn’t make up their minds about how to respond to the firehose of lies Trump told last night.
There are over 200 Democrats in the House. Can you imagine if they all stood up, one after the other, and called Trump out? How that fighting spirit would have translated into how the electorate viewed Democrats fighting for democracy. Trump’s all about showmanship. If the Democrats would have had the guts to follow Green, that would have made the headlines, not all the lies Trump told.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries apparently told Democrats to mind decorum, and show seriousness. Are you kidding me? Paddle signs are serious? And being quiet to mind decorum?
Can you just imagine what would have happened if Kamala Harris was delivering that speech last night. All hell would have broken loose on the Republican side. It would have been a free-for-all, with the wild and untamed Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene leading the way.
The Democrats could have followed their Green in leading the way by revolting against Trump all night long, through his entire speech. But instead, they cowered. Yes, some walked out, but big deal to that. While they turned their backs and headed to the exits, Trump kept talking.
Wouldn’t it have been great if the Democrats actually kept him from talking last night? And can you imagine what was going through Trump’s mind while he was talking, and when he saw those paddle boards being flashed as a response to his incessant talking? “What a bunch of losers,” I’m sure that’s what kept going through his mind.
If the Democrats don’t start fighting back hard like Green, they surely will end up as a bunch of losers…again.
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