“Let the attention be on his slobbering self,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told told Democratic representatives. “If you want to walk out, don’t come in.” | John Shinkle/POLITICO Pelosi tells Democrats not to disrupt ‘slobbering’ Trump during SOTU

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is encouraging her caucus to behave during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight, saying the focus should be on “his slobbering self.”

Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered the message to the House Democratic Caucus at their weekly private meeting Tuesday morning.


“Let the attention be on his slobbering self,” Pelosi told members, according to two sources in the room. “If you want to walk out, don’t come in.”

Democratic leaders are hoping to avoid any kind of disruptive moments a la Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who yelled “you lie!” during President Barack Obama’s joint address to Congress in 2009.

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Any kind of similar interruption by Democrats would only fuel the Republican base and distract from Democratic attempts to rebut the speech after the fact, Pelosi argued.

She added that expectations are so low for the unconventional Trump, he’s likely to get good reviews from pundits for doing the bare minimum.

“If his nose isn’t running and he isn’t burping, he did a great speech,” Pelosi predicted during the caucus meeting.

About a dozen House Democrats are expected to skip the State of the Union tonight, while many other members plan to attend but protest in their own way.

Several Democrats, including Pelosi, are bringing young undocumented immigrants as their guests. Other lawmakers have invited sexual harassment victims to the speech and plan to wear black to call attention to the women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.

During Trump’s joint address to Congress last year, Democrats also brought guests negatively affected by the administration's policies on immigration, refugees and healthcare. But lawmakers did not interrupt the speech or cause any kind of public disruption.

