The State of the Union is tonight, and President Donald Trump is scheduled to give his diagnosis on how the country is doing one year into his second term.

The nation’s attention will be on the president, but the audience may be where the action happens.

Not too long ago, members were expected to watch the speech respectfully. They could clap or stand to express approval, but otherwise had to be quiet. Increasingly, members of Congress are using the speech as a platform for their own political stances and making themselves the main characters of the night.

When one Republican, Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, shouted “You lie!” at President Barack Obama during a 2009 address before a joint session of Congress, it was a national scandal. The House voted to formally reprimand Wilson in a bipartisan move.

In 2006, Beverly Young, the wife of then-Rep. Bill Young of Florida, was ejected from the House chamber ahead of President George W. Bush’s State of the Union for wearing a T-shirt supporting the Iraq War. Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war protester, was arrested at the same speech for wearing a T-shirt protesting the war.

Not for yelling. Not for interrupting. For a T-shirt. (The U.S. Capitol Police chief said later that he regretted removing the women from the chamber.)

Those norms are changing. In recent years, there have been a variety of theatrics that make calling the president a liar look positively quaint. Jeers and boos are the norm. Former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) caused President Joe Biden to pause his speech in 2024 by shouting the name of nursing student Laken Riley, who had been killed by an undocumented immigrant.

In 2023, she repeatedly screamed “liar” during his address when he said some Republican lawmakers wanted to sunset Social Security, and she was hardly the only one. Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Eli Crane (R-Arizona) joined her on their feet, and a chorus of Republicans booed the president in an attempt to drown him out.

Democrats have also used the speech to express disapproval in ways that have become more visible over time. During his first address to Congress as president in 2017, Democratic congresswomen wore white in homage to the women’s suffrage movement and in rebuke of Trump’s sexist comments. Dozens of Democratic congresswomen have continued to wear white since.

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi dramatically tore up Trump’s speech in 2020 from the dais, later telling reporters it was “a manifesto of mistruths.” During last year’s speech, several Democrats simply left the chamber.

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was removed from the House floor last year for yelling “you have no mandate to cut Medicaid” while waving his cane, after which he was censured, with 10 Democrats joining all Republicans.

Many Democrats are uneasy with the outbursts like Green’s, fearing they distract from the party’s more measured formal rebuttal after the speech (this year given by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger). House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told his fellow Democrats this year to either be quiet or don’t come.

“The two options that are in front of us, in our House, is either attend with silent defiance, or to not attend, and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion, which will include participation in a variety of different alternate programming,” Jeffries said during a news conference last week.

Several Democratic lawmakers are planning to speak at a “People’s State of the Union,” organized by left-leaning advocacy groups on the National Mall.

For reporters who sit in the chamber, watching the audience is often the biggest part of the job. Where we sit, high up behind the dais, we can’t see (and often can’t hear) the president but have a clear view of almost every seat on the floor. Not everything we notice is dramatic enough to make the headlines, but members’ behavior does give us an insight into where they stand on policy.

It’ll be interesting to watch how pro-free-trade Republicans react to Trump’s rhetoric on tariffs, a topic he’s almost certain to bring up tonight following the Supreme Court’s ruling last week that shot down much of his trade policy.

Trump is also weighing a strike on Iran, building up the U.S. military presence near the country. If he engages in an extended operation in Iran, he would be going back on a major promise made in his campaign: that he wouldn’t engage in new wars or nation building. We’ve already seen a scattering of Republicans voice opposition to an attack on Iran. Will more refuse to clap tonight?

Expect tonight’s speech to be long – Trump said it would be “because we have so much to talk about.” In case you missed it, Amber Phillips of The 5-Minute Fix newsletter (you can sign up here) wrote about what’s on Trump’s mind ahead of tonight’s speech. Be sure to follow our team’s coverage from the chamber tonight.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post