Wednesday, 1 May 2024

Why Democratic women wore white to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address

Democratic women of the U.S. House of Representatives donned white at U.S. President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

The white ensembles were a powerful tribute to the women’s suffrage movement, when activists wore the colour during demonstrations.

It was a plan orchestrated by House Democratic Women’s Working Group chair Rep. Lois Frankel, who recently urged women to wear “suffragette white” to the address.

“We’ll honor all those who came before us & send a message of solidarity that we’re not going back on our hard-earned rights!” Frankel tweeted last week.

Clearly, many women in the House were on board — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Beyond being a tribute to suffragettes, the sea of white outfits showed off the number of women now in Congress — 102 — more than ever before.

The women are still celebrating that feat. They rose to their feet during the address to clap and cheer after Trump gave a shout-out to the record number of women in the House.

“Exactly one century after the Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before,” Trump said during his speech.

It’s not the first time Democratic women have opted for white to make a statement on gender equality.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently wore white for her swearing-in ceremony.

“I wore all-white today to honor the women who paved the path before me, and for all the women yet to come,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted at the time.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wore white to U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017.

The Women’s Working Group also urged Democratic women to wear white in 2017 to a joint address Trump gave before Congress.

The group explained at the time that it was in support of women facing issues related to health-care costs, equal pay and reproductive rights.

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