WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio's 13th congressional district walked out in the middle of President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address Tuesday night, expressing his disgust with the president's words and actions.
Just before 9:30 p.m. and with the speech still going on, Ryan's Twitter account pushed back on Trump's claims of a strong economy, asking, "If that's true, why are so many Ohioans working 2 or 3 jobs and struggling to make ends meet?" About a half hour later, Ryan announced he had left the House chamber, angrily exclaiming, "I've had enough. It's like watching professional wrestling. It's all fake."
Several Democrats took issue with the rosy picture the president painted during the annual address before Congress, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even tore up her own copy of the speech as Trump left the podium. A fact-check by 3News' parent company Tegna found a number of the president's claims were technically true, but lacking context.
Ryan ran for the Democratic presidential nomination to go against Trump in the 2020 election, but failed to gain significant steam and dropped out months before the Iowa caucuses. He has remained one of the president's strongest critics in the House.
A recent Baldwin Wallace poll showed Trump trailing Democrats by five points in Ohio, although 16% of respondents were still undecided.