Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley say they’ll skip President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday, Feb. 24, and instead will co-host a live online town hall meeting that day.

“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,” Wyden said in a press release Thursday, Feb. 19.

Added Merkley: “Every day of the week, I’ll choose to boycott the wannabe dictator and connect with Oregonians.”

The online town hall, titled “The Fate of the Union,” will begin at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday and can be viewed on YouTube. Oregonians who want to ask a question during the virtual town hall can submit questions in advance.

Wyden and Merkley, both Democrats, also hold annual town hall meetings in each of Oregon’s 36 counties.

Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday.

Mike McInally is a Pacific Northwest journalist with four decades of experience in Oregon and Montana, including stints as editor of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Albany Democrat-Herald.