House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) warned her caucus Tuesday to stay in line during President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address.
Pelosi addressed the House Democratic Caucus about her expectations during a weekly private meeting Tuesday morning, Politico reports.
"Let the attention be on his slobbering self," she said, according to two sources in the room. "If you want to walk out, don’t come in."
A dozen or so House Democrats are expected to skip out on the State of the Union in protest of Trump's presidency.
Pelosi told Democrats she expects all eyes to be on the president during the speech, and wants to avoid any kind of interruption that could fuel the Republican base.
She further argued expectations are so low for Trump that pundits are likely to give him a good review for doing the bare minimum.
"If his nose isn’t running and he isn’t burping, he did a great speech," Pelosi said.
Rather than boycott the address, some Democrats will protest by bringing young illegal immigrants–those who represent a larger group who could benefit from immigration reform–as guests. Other lawmakers plan to bring victims of sexual misconduct and will wear black to show solidarity with women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
In response to the president's address, the grandson of Bobby Kennedy, Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D., Mass.), will deliver the Democratic Party's official response. Virginia State Senator Elizabeth Guzman (D.) will provide an official response in Spanish.
The responses will not end there. As opposed to a prerecorded response, as is the norm in the case of official responses, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) will directly respond to Trump's address. Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) will deliver a response on BET, and former Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.) will respond for the Working Families Party.
The State of the Union is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday.