Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Laura Gillen (D-NY) have voiced disappointment over their party’s response during former President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday. While Trump honoured 13-year-old cancer fighter DJ Daniel and named him a member of the Secret Service to fulfil his dream of becoming a law enforcement officer, most Democrats remained seated as Republicans stood and applauded.
Khanna, in a post on X, recounted an encounter with a flight attendant who criticised the Democrats’ reaction. “Jim Barrett, a flight attendant, politely chased me down at Chicago Airport. ‘Sir, I am a Democrat but the way the party behaved was embarrassing. Made us look heartless. I don’t care who is up there, you stand for the boy with cancer. Be more rational & get your act together,’” Khanna wrote. He added that he assured the attendant that “a few of us did stand and clap, and we must be the party that still believes in kindness, decency, and trying to bring people together.”
Gillen also expressed her disappointment in an interview with News12 Long Island. “Quite frankly, there were moments where I feel like anger at some of the actions that have happened over the past month-and-a-half prevented some of my colleagues from being able to stand up to support the little DJ Daniel,” she said. “I stood up and applauded this little boy, who is getting over cancer, wants to be a police officer — and I was disappointed that I was not joined by any of my colleagues.”
DJ, a Houston native battling brain cancer, has been sworn into over 900 police departments worldwide, according to Breitbart News. While every Republican in the chamber stood and cheered for him, it remains unclear if any other Democrats joined Khanna and Gillen in showing support.