Washington sources reported that the women in white several dozen Democratic lawmakers sat en bloc Tuesday in unmistakable defiance of President Donald Trump while he delivered his State of the Union address. Accordingly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump's arch rival in Washington who sat behind him on the dais, led many in her caucus in wearing white to honor the fight for suffrage rights, which women earned 100 years ago in the United States.
Meanwhile when seated together, the bloc of women lawmakers sent a striking visual message, a challenge to Trump and how he and his administration have addressed issues important to women, such as equal pay, health care, and the treatment of the immigrant families. Earlier in the speech, as Trump declared the state of the union to be "strong" and said the country was enjoying an "unprecedented economic boom," some Democrats in white sat on their hands.
Moreover when Trump spoke of it drew Republicans and some Democrats to their feet, but lawmakers including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29 year old liberal rising star from New York, sat stone faced. Reportedly before Trump began his speech, many of the women gathered in the aisle on the Democratic side of the House chamber, posing for photographs and celebrating their record strength in numbers: 102 women in the 435 seat House of Representatives, and 25 women in the 100 member Senate.
