The State of the Union split screen

At the same time that Donald Trump seizes one of the biggest megaphones in American politics tonight, Democrats are hoping to capture attention for themselves in a fragmented, meme-driven media landscape. As the president delivers his State of the Union address to millions of Americans watching live, Democratic elected officials and progressive groups are rolling out their own counterprogramming, both online and in person, hoping to break through the noise and claim part of the national spotlight.

The Democrats’ official response to Trump’s speech, which most broadcast and cable news networks air immediately after the main address, will come from newly elected Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Her selection aligns with the party’s strategy since 2017 of tapping noncontroversial elected officials with broad appeal for most Trump State of the Union responses. POLITICO perhaps put it best this morning in its flagship newsletter: “The risk is that she underwhelms.”

Previous Democratic responses were delivered by Steve Beshear (2017), Joe Kennedy III (2018), Stacey Abrams (2019), Gretchen Whitmer (2020), and Elissa Slotkin (2025). An official Spanish-language response will also be delivered, this time by California Sen. Alex Padilla. The Working Families Party, a Democratic-aligned progressive minor party mostly active in “Blue” states, will also offer a response to Trump’s speech tonight. That response will be given by Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pittsburgh). 

For grassroots libs who aren’t interested in switching on their cable boxes, a circus-like pair of in-person and virtual events are also happening, hoping to steal some of the President’s spotlight and media attention. That includes “The People’s State of The Union,” a live-streamed rally on the National Mall that lists more than a dozen members of Congress as speakers. The event is hosted by MoveOn.org and will be streamed by liberal YouTube giant Meidas Touch. 

Just a few blocks away, another group of resistance figures will gather at the National Press Club for a similar live-streamed event, called “State of the Swamp.” That one, hosted by DEFIANCE.org, “The Portland Frog Brigade,” and media network COURIER will feature more than three dozen speakers ranging from the expected (members of Congress) to the bizarre (actors Robert de Niro and Tom Arnold). Former CNN anchors Don Lemon and Jim Acosta will be there, as will the mayors of Chicago and Minneapolis. Quick back-of-the-hand math shows that the speakers’ combined online following exceeds 100 million. 

For Democrats, it seems like the goal of these events isn’t really to break through the noise so much as to add to it to prove they’re still part of the conversation. The whole thing is kind of a reflection of the real State of the Union now: a thousand different parallel broadcasts, where everyone’s yelling about politics into a camera, but only a few are really listening in between endless scrolls.

Since retaking the White House in January 2025, President Trump has mostly stayed away from the male-dominated, apolitical podcasts and web shows that he used to reach voters in 2024. But, an exception came this week when he appeared on Josh Pate’s College Football Show, a popular podcast about…you guessed it: college football. The ~10 minute interview was a softball that steered clear of politics, but Trump still struggled with at least one question right off the bat: When asked about the general state of college football, he responded with a meandering monologue about a controversial rules change in the NFL, unrelated to the NCAA. Watch the show below: