Twenty-two Democratic senators rebuked President Donald Trump in identical speeches Tuesday hours ahead of his address to a joint session of Congress.
The speech, part of the so-called “Shit That Ain’t True” campaign, primarily attacked the president on economic policy, citing the rising cost of eggs — though they also emphasized Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to “vital government programs.” The videos posted to X began with a clip of Trump promising to “bring prices down starting on day one” before the senators recited the statement verbatim from chairs or couches in their congressional offices.
“Shit that ain’t true, that’s what you just heard.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and 21 others said. “Since day one of Donald Trump’s presidency, prices are up, not down. Inflation is getting worse, not better … He’s pardoned violent criminals who beat police officers on January 6. He’s letting Elon Musk take a chainsaw, literally, to government programs that people need.”
Democrats are stepping up their offensive against Trump ahead of his first address to lawmakers in his second term, a “joint session of Congress” speech that is not technically a State of the Union address.
The party, a minority in both chambers of congress, is struggling to counter Trump’s shock-and-awe approach to policy implementation and seemingly trying to develop a new messaging strategy. The Democrats face a record-low 36% favorability rating, according to a Feb. 24 Harvard CAPS/Harris poll as the economy-focused speech appears to be an attempt to shift party messaging from divisive social issues to more universally resonant voter concerns.
“Trump, Musk and Republicans are taking services away from you in order to make room for tax cuts for billionaires like them,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and the 21 other senators said. “The Republican plan is simple: families lose and billionaires win. And that’s the truth.”
Musk called the participating senators “puppets” in a post on X in response to a video of Warren and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer reciting the identical statement.
Other Democratic lawmakers who recited the prewritten statement include Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
The president’s address is set to begin shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
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