Stephen Colbert Takes Aim at Hakeem Jeffries’ ‘Silent’ SOTU Protest: ‘Bold Rebrand of Doing Jack Squat’

Stephen Colbert mocked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries over his “silent defiance” approach to protest during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, joking that the strategy is a “bold rebrand of doing jack squat.”

On Tuesday night, dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the president’s address in protest of his agenda, while others who attended staged walkouts or held up signs, but it was Jeffries’ call to avoid disruptive displays during the speech, which drew Colbert’s ire on The Late Show.

“For Democrats who did attend, Hakeem Jeffries urged members not to make a scene,” Colbert said, following with the punch: “An approach he dubbed ‘silent defiance’ – which I believe is a bold rebrand of doing jack squat.”

Showing a mocking quote and image on screen, he jibed: “As Martin Luther King once said, ‘Shhh.’”

Protests unfolded both inside and outside the chamber throughout the event as several Democrats who skipped the speech addressed hundreds gathered on the National Mall for a counter-event billed as the “People’s State of the Union.”

At the outset of the address, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) held up a sign reading, “Black people aren’t apes,” referencing a video posted earlier this month on Trump’s social media account depicting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes. Green was escorted from the chamber, marking the second time he has been removed during one of Trump’s joint addresses.

As the president defended his immigration crackdown and criticised sanctuary cities, Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) raised photos of two U.S. citizens killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis last month. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shouted, “You have killed Americans.”

Watch above via CBS.

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