President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania announced that the following individuals will be seated with the First Lady during President Trump’s second State of the Union address:
Hal from Publix
Hal is a cashier who keeps his store safe by checking photo IDs when customers buy groceries. During the shutdown, he helped countless government workers through creative solutions like putting groceries on layaway or offering food on credit if customers handed over jewelry and other personal items as collateral. Hal will be accompanied by Comet, a Weimaraner-poodle mix who will be returned to Mrs. Johnson after she repays her debt, which now includes the cost of two bags of dog food and 80 hours of pet sitting.
Langston Hughes
It’s Black History Month, so we are honoring an up-and-coming poet who is becoming increasingly popular and receiving more and more recognition! The president was on the forefront when he thanked Frederick Douglass for doing an “amazing job” in 2017, and now he is ready to show his support for another black person. Langston will read his very famous poem The Color Purple before the president’s speech.
Andrew Butler
You know Andrew from a New York Times story about White identity in a Midwestern town forgotten by almost everyone. Which story, you ask? The one that shows a man staring wistfully out of his window drinking a cup of Maxwell House coffee, swastika neck tattoo barely visible above the collar of his flannel shirt. What? That still doesn’t narrow it down? This is exactly why Andrew is a guest at the State of the Union. President Trump wants to put a face to the struggle of men who just want to be respected for their hatred towards non-White people and have influence over national policy on key civil rights issues.
Roger Stone
A survivor of police brutality, Roger’s presence at the State of the Union will signal president Trump’s commitment to criminal justice reform and inspire activism to effect change. If you see Roger refuse to stand for the pledge of allegiance before the speech, it isn’t because his loyalty lies with another country. This is his peaceful protest against injustice.
Emily Harrison
Emily is a staunch supporter of women’s rights and self-made businesswoman who is an executive at the pencil company her family has owned for six generations. She knows that since she did not struggle because of her sex, no other woman in this country ever has either. She fights for the right for every woman to get a second job to earn as much as men, look for other jobs if she is fired for turning down a date with the boss, and realize that if she is treated unfairly it is a blessing because God created woman subordinate to man.
Howard Schultz
The president will show his commitment to democracy by honoring Howard Schultz and encouraging him to run for president in 2020. It time to disrupt our country’s two-party system!
Denis Villeneuve
Denis did the world a service by shining a light on our country’s border crisis through his powerful documentary Sicario. He risked his own life to provide us countless hours of footage of prayer rugs near the Rio Grande and women bound with duct tape in the back of human traffickers’ cars down near that part of the border after you turn right and keep driving.
Ricky Wyatt
“It’s my culture, not your costume,” Ricky tweeted on Saturday about Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook picture of a person in a KKK hood. Since that day, Ricky has been an inspirational advocate against the scourge of cultural appropriation. His presence at the State of the Union underscores president Trump’s positive message about our nation’s values.