U.S. President Donald Trump's first year in office was marked by controversy, resulting in at least 14 Democratic lawmakers announcing they plan to boycott the speech. It could be the biggest known boycott of a president's State of the Union.
Rep. John Lewis of Georgia said he would not attend. "At this junction, I do not plan to attend the State of the Union," Lewis said on MSNBC.
Rep. Juan Vargas of California tweeted Monday afternoon on his decision not to attend: ".@POTUS continues to disrespect women, insult people of color, and attack our immigrant communities. I will not be attending the State of the Union—I stand in solidarity with all the people he has and continues to disrespect. #SOTU"
Rep. Maxine Waters of California, a harsh Trump critic, also said she wouldn't be going. She asked, "Why would I take my time to go and sit and listen to a liar?"
This is not the first boycott of a president's State of the Union address.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton spoke in front of a divided Congress in his State of the Union address, just weeks after being impeached by the House of Representatives. Some Republicans decided not to attend. They included Reps. John Shadegg of Arizona, Bob Schaffer of Colorado, and Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Bobb Barr of Georgia.
The previous largest known boycott of a president's address came in 1971 by all 12 African-American lawmakers in the House. The members wrote to President Richard Nixon for a meeting, which they said he refused. In turn, they skipped Nixon's speech.