Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) has announced that he will boycott President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week.
Markey will instead attend the “People’s State of the Union” on Tuesday, February 24. He will be joined by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) along with Reps. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Becca Balint (D-VT), Greg Casar (D-TX), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), John Larson (D-CT), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
““The State of the Union should be a reckoning with reality, but Donald Trump will use it to spin fiction and normalize the gross abuse of power,” Markey said. “He will claim everything is fine while families struggle to afford health care and housing, immigrant communities live in fear, and his billionaire allies loot the country under the cover of chaos. I will not legitimize those lies. 250 years ago, the American Revolution began in Massachusetts because we refused to bow to a king, and Donald Trump does not believe in ‘We the People’ or the democratic Union forged here in 1776. He believes in power for himself.”
The “People’s State of the Union,” hosted by MeidasTouch and MoveOn Civic Action, is intended as counterprogramming focused on elevating the voices of Americans affected by Trump’s second term. The rally will be held near the Capitol at 8:30 p.m.
“If Trump will not honor the American people, then the people should turn off his remarks and turn toward each other, toward their neighbors, their communities, and the real power of this country,” Markey said. “I’m proud to join the People’s State of the Union to make clear that in America, power belongs to the people, not to a corrupt and immoral president who thinks he is above the law.”
Traditionally, the president’s opposing party delivers a formal response immediately following the annual address. Since Trump’s first term, some Democrats have expressed dissent by skipping the speech, walking out mid-address or being removed from the chamber.
Markey’s primary challenger, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), said he has invited Marcelo Gomes da Silva to attend the State of the Union as his guest.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Marcelo in May 2025 while he was driving his father’s car. Authorities had initially been seeking his father. Marcelo, who has no criminal history, was taken into custody and held for nearly a week at the ICE field office in Burlington.
“I invited Marcelo to join me at the State of the Union because his story captures what’s broken in our immigration system right now,” Moulton said. “The outpouring of support that Marcelo received following his detainment wasn’t an accident. It happened because people know the kind of person that Marcelo is. He is exactly the kind of young person America should be investing in, not locking up. If we want to call ourselves a nation of opportunity, we should start by uplifting young people like Marcelo.”
Moulton previously told the Swampscott Tides that part of his motivation to run stems from what he described as “failed leadership in our own party,” adding that during President Donald Trump’s second term, Trump “is hurting a lot of people in Massachusetts and across America.”
The Democratic Senate primary is scheduled for September 1.
Polling from the fall shows Markey with a sizable lead. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll conducted November 25 found Markey ahead of Moulton, 45% to 22%, among Massachusetts registered voters. An earlier UMass Amherst/WCVB poll from November showed 51% support for Markey compared to 28% for Moulton.
Moulton closed out 2025 with $3.1 million in cash on hand, according to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Markey finished out the year with almost $2.77 million in cash on hand.
Despite the polling, Moulton said voters should “have hope in the next generation of leaders.” Markey, 79, would be among the oldest members of Congress if he is reelected.
