--- description: President Donald Trump said Democrats who did not clap during his first State of the Union address were "treasonous." title: President Trump Said Democrats Who Didn't Clap at the State of the Union Were 'Treasonous' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2acea6d769c199a0/6988fa9d22fb853774e249d6/gettyimages-914557868.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump Said Democrats Who Didn't Clap at the State of the Union Were 'Treasonous' by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:38 AM CUTPublished: Feb 5, 2018 8:23 PM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and first lady Melania Trump leave the White House February 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and first lady Melania Trump leave the White House February 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:38 AM CUTPublished: Feb 5, 2018 8:23 PM CUT President Donald Trump said Democrats who did not clap during his first State of the Union address were “treasonous.” Speaking at [a Sheffer factory in Cincinnati](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/05/trumps-cincinnati-tax-cuts-big-business-and-melania-visiting-sick-kids/307141002/ "undefined") Monday, Trump criticized Democratic lawmakers who did not stand and applaud during his State of the Union address last Tuesday, saying they gave off “bad energy” and calling them “un-American.” “Somebody said treasonous,” he said. “I mean, yeah, I guess, why not. Can we call that treason? Why not?” A White House spokesman said Tuesday that the remarks were [“tongue-in-cheek.”](https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/06/politics/treason-donald-trump-joking/index.html "undefined") Trump called for bipartisan unity [during his first State of the Union address](http://time.com/5125174/trump-state-of-the-union-address-transcript/ "undefined"), but many Democrats in the audience [stayed seated and avoided clapping](https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/democrats-scoff-boo-groan-glower-trump-s-state-union-n843146 "undefined") even on some noncontroversial subjects that would have typically prompted applause. Some said they found the calls disingenuous. “You cannot reject bipartisan plans to improve health care and protect Dreamers or sow hate and division — and then turn around the next day and say you want to work together,” said Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California after the speech. Read his full remarks on the State of the Union below: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5134150/donald-trump-state-union-democrats-treasonous/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5134150/donald-trump-state-union-democrats-treasonous/"},"headline":"President Trump Said Democrats Who Didn't Clap at the State of the Union Were 'Treasonous'","datePublished":"2018-02-05T20:23:47.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T11:38:03.000Z","description":"He was referring to the State of the Union","url":"https://time.com/5134150/donald-trump-state-union-democrats-treasonous/","keywords":["Donald Trump","state of the union","Ohio","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2acea6d769c199a0/6988fa9d22fb853774e249d6/gettyimages-914557868.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2acea6d769c199a0/6988fa9d22fb853774e249d6/gettyimages-914557868.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and first lady Melania Trump leave the White House February 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.","caption":"U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and first lady Melania Trump leave the White House February 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5134150/donald-trump-state-union-democrats-treasonous/","name":"President Trump Said Democrats Who Didn't Clap at the State of the Union Were 'Treasonous'"}}]}] ```