"Let the attention be on his slobbering self," the California Democrat Pelosi told members in her caucus's weekly private meeting Tuesday morning, two sources told Politico. "If you want to walk out, don't come in."

She reportedly told her members that expectations for his speech are so low that, "if his nose isn't running and he isn't burping, he did a great speech."

Pelosi wants to avoid any disruption such as South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson caused in 2009 when he yelled "you lie!" during President Barack Obama's address, saying that would just rev up his base and distract from the Democratic response, Politico said.

About a dozen Democrats are expected to skip the speech, and some plan to protest in their own way. Pelosi and some other Democrats are bringing Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants, as their guests. Other lawmakers have invited sexual harassment victims and plan to wear black to symbolize the women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.

The speech comes as Trump is dealing with backlash on immigration issues, controversy over a Republican-written memo accusing the FBI of improprieties and special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.