The reason many female Democratic lawmakers wore pink to President Donald Trump’s address to Congress has been revealed.
On Tuesday night (March 4), President Trump delivered his first major speech to a joint session of Congress since taking office in January.
The 100-minute speech, the longest in modern US history, highlighted the 78-year-old’s stance on economic policies, immigration, and foreign affairs.
Among those in attendance were dozens of female Democratic lawmakers, who made a bold statement by arriving at the House chamber dressed in pink pantsuits.
According to Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the color was meant to send a clear message about their opposition to Trump’s policies since coming into power in January.
“Pink is a color of power and protest,” she told Time magazine. “It’s time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear. Women have worn pink in opposition to Trump before, and we will do it again.”
The 96-member Democratic Women’s Caucus has a history of using fashion as a form of protest.
Last year, they wore white to honor suffragists who fought for women’s voting rights and to advocate for reproductive freedom at the State of the Union Address. This year, the group is taking a different approach, choosing pink to signal a shift in tone as they respond to what they view as a pivotal moment in American politics.
Not everyone wearing the bright color is aligned with the Democratic women’s caucus. There are several Republicans who are wearing pink as well, such as Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), signaling that the color has taken on broader political significance beyond party lines.
Fernández pointed to several policies she believes are harming women, particularly those in working-class communities.
“Women in my district are terrified and are also losing their jobs with the indiscriminate, inconsistent, chaotic, mass firings,” she said. “When a woman loses her job, she loses the ability to care for her family.”
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“I think it’s important that Trump, my Republican colleagues, and the nation see the faces and the pain that he is inflicting on America and on the services we depend on,” she added.
The protest at Trump’s address extended beyond fashion choices. Several Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout mid-speech, dramatically removing their jackets to reveal T-shirts with slogans like “RESIST” and “NO MORE KINGS.”
Among those participating in the act of defiance were Representatives Maxwell Frost of Florida and Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
Meanwhile, other lawmakers, including members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, held up placards with statements such as “That’s a lie,” “Musk Steals,” and “Save Medicaid”.
The President appeared to relish the confrontations at Congress. As Democrats staged walkouts and held up signs, he took a moment to address them directly.
“I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,” he remarked, per First Post.
He went on to suggest that no matter what he accomplished – whether curing a devastating disease or achieving historic economic success – his critics would remain unmoved.
“Nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements,” he added.
