Wyden and Merkley Skip State of the Union, Hold Virtual Town Hall

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley did not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24, 2026, and instead co-hosted a live online town hall beginning at 2:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. MT) that streamed on YouTube with People’s Town Hall. The senators’ joint release and local station reports said Oregonians could submit questions in advance to ask during the virtual meeting.

Nathan Williams of People’s Town Hall framed the event as constituent outreach, saying, “Direct dialogue with our leaders is a cornerstone of our democracy, and it's never been more important for our elected representatives to listen to the people they work for: their constituents.” NBC16 and KLCC cited Williams’ comments as part of the event announcement that the town hall would “give Oregonians a chance to ask questions and share concerns directly.”

Both senators used unusually blunt language in the written release republished by Marion Democrats to justify their absence from the Capitol. Senator Jeff Merkley said, “After a year in office, Trump has made America poorer and sicker. We know Trump says one thing but then does another. He ran for president promising to help working people, but in office he’s only helped the rich and powerful. Trump is putting up red tape for families and rolling out the red carpet for billionaires. Every day of the week, I’ll choose to boycott the wannabe dictator and connect with Oregonians.”

Senator Ron Wyden likewise criticized the president’s remarks and said he preferred hearing directly from constituents: “Sitting through Donald Trump’s unhinged ramblings about his unconstitutional schemes does nothing to help Oregonians justifiably concerned about his attacks on the economy and the law as well as his desperate diversions from the Epstein investigation. Rather than hearing a so-called State of the Union from a self-absorbed liar, I’ll hear the truth from my fellow Oregonians in the best state of the union.”

Local outlets noted the virtual town hall was part of a broader pattern: NBC16 and KPIC reported that “dozens of Democrats plan to skip Trump’s State of the Union as protests form,” and both stations emphasized the senators’ stated focus on protecting the Constitution and resisting what they described as assaults on the Bill of Rights.

Wyden followed the Feb. 24 virtual event with two in-person town halls the next weekend, meeting constituents Saturday, Feb. 28, at Portland’s Ida B. Wells High School and Sunday, March 1, at 1:00 p.m. at Oregon State University’s LaSells Stewart Center in Corvallis, according to KLCC. NBC16 and KPIC also noted that Representative Val Hoyle did not attend the address and was at the Capitol Building that evening.

Both Wyden and Merkley maintain an annual practice of holding a town hall in each of Oregon’s 36 counties, a routine the senators’ offices and local stations cited as context for the Feb. 24 virtual session and the follow-up in-person meetings. The online format and advance-question option concentrated constituent attention on local concerns rather than the Capitol chamber’s proceedings, redirecting a nationally watched night into direct engagement with Oregonians.