Donald Trump Just Tried to Take Credit for Electing the Most Women to Congress Ever

The Democratic women wouldn’t give it to him.

Women members of Congress cheer after President Donald Trump acknowledges more women in Congress during his 2019 State of the Union address.J. Scott Applewhite/AP

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During Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the president took credit for a strong economy and noted that women had particularly benefited from job creation. The Democratic women of the 116th Congress—most of whom donned white in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote—used the applause line to steal the president’s spotlight and call attention to the fact that there were more women in Congress than ever before.

“You weren’t supposed to do that!” the president shouted, departing from the script.

The formal remarks did include an acknowledgment of the fact that there are more women serving in Congress than ever before—”Don’t sit yet, you’re going to like this,” Trump said. And as he did, Democrats broke out in a “USA” chant.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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