Markey to join Democrats boycotting Trump's State of the Union address

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Feb 18, 2026

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U.S. Senator Ed Markey, D-MA, says he will be boycotting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week and will instead join “The People’s State of the Union,” joining several fellow congressional Democrats in a counterprogramming demonstration against the president.

“The State of the Union should be a reckoning with reality, but Donald Trump will use it to spin fiction and normalize the gross abuse of power. He will claim everything is fine while families struggle to afford health care and housing, immigrant communities live in fear, and his billionaire allies loot the country under the cover of chaos – I will not legitimize those lies,” Markey said in a press release.

MSNBC personalities Joy Reid and Katie Phang have been tapped to host the event, which will feature a lineup including Markey and fellow Democratic U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, D-OR, Chris Murphy, D-CT, Tina Smith, D-NM, Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, and U.S. Reps. Yassamin Ansari, AZ-03, Becca Balint, D-VT, Greg Casar, TX-35, Pramila Jayapal, WA-07, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, CA-30, John Larson, DC-01, Delia Ramirez, IL-03, Bonnie Watson Coleman, NJ-12. The event will also feature other soon-to-be announced elected officials, leaders, and advocates, according to the press release.

The New York Times reports that House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, NY-08, is encouraging Democrats to either boycott the speech altogether or sit through it silently, rather than splitting lawmakers between both events and creating “distractions in the House chamber.”

“We’re not going to his house, he’s coming to our house. Having grown up where I grew up, you never let anyone run you off your block,” Jeffries said.

Organizers say “everyday Americans most impacted by Trump’s dangerous and reckless agenda,” will join the hosts and lawmakers on stage.

Markey went on to tie in Massachusetts’ role in the American Revolution to imply Trump views himself as a “king.”

“Two hundred and fifty years ago, the American Revolution began in Massachusetts because we refused to bow to a king, and Donald Trump does not believe in ‘We the People’ or the democratic Union forged here in 1776 – he believes in power for himself,” said Markey.

“If Trump will not honor the American people, then the people should turn off his remarks and turn toward each other – toward their neighbors, their communities, and the real power of this country. I’m proud to join the People’s State of the Union to make clear that in America, power belongs to the people, not to a corrupt and immoral president who thinks he is above the law.”

The event, described as “counterprogramming focused on elevating the voices of Americans impacted by President Trump’s reckless and dangerous agenda,” is organized by MeidasTouch and MoveOn Civic Action.

As of the timing of this article, no other members of the Massachusetts federal delegation have announced that are joining the boycott.

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