WASHINGTON — One of the most unusual sights during President Trump’s record-breaking State of the Union Address on Tuesday night was Sen. Elizabeth Warren giving him a standing ovation.
Warren (D-Mass.), a progressive icon, is one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the Senate. But the president mentioned one policy that got Warren to her feet, cheering him on, when he asked Congress to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act.
“As we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market, let’s also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit using inside information. Pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay,” Trump declared.
The Stop Insider Trading Act would bar lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children from buying publicly traded stocks. It also mandates that lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children give a seven-day public notice before selling off a stock.
Warren has long backed similar legislation.
Other Democrats similarly stood up in applause, drawing notice from the president.
“They stood up for that — I can’t believe it,” Trump exclaimed. “Did Nancy Pelosi stand up for that?”
“Doubt it,” he added. The bill has cleared a House committee but is awaiting a full vote in the lower chamber.
Republicans have long needled Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over well-timed trades her husband has made over the years.
Pelosi has a net worth of more than $269 million, according to Quiver Quantitative, making the retiring rep one of the wealthiest lawmakers in Congress.
The former House speaker glared at Trump after he lodged the broadside against her.
She sat next to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and took some notes during Trump’s speech.
Trump’s dig at her was revenge of sorts in their longstanding feud. During his prior State of the Union address in 2020, Pelosi infamously tore up Trump’s speech in full view of the cameras within the House chamber to see.
The president did get occasional applause from Democrats throughout his marquee address. Warren was also seen standing after Trump said that Iran can’t be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
For the most part, Democrats sat through Trump’s speech in distress, rarely clapping for him. Several Democrats, including Reps. Al Green (D-Texas), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) interrupted him.
For the second year in a row, Green was ejected from the House chamber during Trump’s speech, this time for waving around a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes” in a jab at the president’s Truth Social posting debacle earlier this month.
Omar and Tlaib left early after repeatedly heckling Trump throughout the speech.