04:25

Democrats responded to Donald Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday with a series of rebuttals that sounded a note of defiance in the face of policies they lambasted as divisive and discriminatory.

Joe Kennedy, a representative from Massachusetts, delivered one of two official Democratic responses to Trump’s address, decrying the administration for “targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection”. He was followed by Elizabeth Guzman, the first Hispanic woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, who offered a riposte to Trump delivered entirely in Spanish.

Elsewhere, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders decided to give his own unofficial response, which he said was intended to shed light on “the lies” Trump told during the campaign and promises the president has failed to keep.

Typically, the opposing party delivers one official response to the president’s State of the Union. Democrats nonetheless sought to emphasize their party’s diversity to draw a contrast with Trump’s sharp anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The moment has also served in the past to highlight a party’s future leaders. Although not yet a national name, Kennedy, 37, is regarded as a rising star within the Democratic Party. He is the grandson of Robert “Bobby” Kennedy and great-nephew of former President John F Kennedy.

Joe Kennedy. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

In his speech, Kennedy painted a picture of a starkly different America than the one Trump described in the preceding hours. He spoke of: “Russia knee-deep in our democracy. An all-out war on environmental protection. A Justice Department rolling back civil rights by the day. Hatred and supremacy proudly marching in our streets.”

While he did not mention Trump by name, Kennedy also took a veiled shot at the president’s demeanor.

“Bullies may land a punch. They might leave a mark,” he said.

“But they have never, not once, in the history of our United States, managed to match the strength and spirit of a people united in defense of their future.”

Sanders, who streamed his own response live on Facebook and YouTube, took more direct aim at the president and explicitly criticized “the divisiveness, dishonesty, and racism” under Trump.

“The American people do not want a president who is compulsively dishonest, who is a bully, who actively represents the interests of the billionaire class, who is anti-science,” Sanders said, “and who is trying to divide us up based on the color of our skin, our nation of origin, our religion, our gender, or our sexual orientation.”

Every Democrat made a point to underscore the plight of Dreamers, the roughly 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. Their status was thrown into limbo last September when Trump announced plans to rescind an Obama-era program that enabled Dreamers to live and work legally in the US.

“The President has attacked those who are most vulnerable, ending protections for families fleeing persecution, from wars and from natural disasters,” Guzman said.

Kennedy also addressed Dreamers directly, speaking in both Spanish and English.

“You are a part of our story,” he said. “We will fight for you. We will not walk away.”