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Tonight’s the State of the Union address — 62 Comments

  1. Trump recites one accomplishment after another, best employment numbers for women, minorities, HS grads, blue collars…

    and the whited sepulchres sit on their hands and scowl, following the hand signals of Botox Pelosi, whose home town streets are filled with filth.

  2. Who is Nancy Pelosi talking to?! She doesn’t like viable but unborn babies, planting trees, praying in schools, or cancer victims.

  3. I almost never watch political speeches but did so tonight in deference to my husband who watches them all. Pelosi tearing up that paper at the end was exemplary of the Democrat disrespect of the Republic for which we stand. As a Californian and a Catholic I find her a great challenge to living the law of love commanded by my faith. Prayers for this nation.

  4. Physicsguy:

    That really angered my wife. But she allowed as how Trump might have angered Pelosi by not shaking her hand at the beginning. Still, ripping the speech in half was extremely petty.

    Just watching Michigan Governor Whitmer. She started by talking about bad streets in Michigan, and how people pitched in to do it themselves. She forgot to mention that the roads had gone to hell under Democrat governors.

  5. Fantastic SOTU speech. At least a 9 out of a possible 10 on a zero to 10 scale, and I can see scoring it a 10+.

    On the other hand, Speaker Pelosi did what I thought was impossible–scoring in negative numbers. Her face during much of the speech said, “This very same speech should be being given here by Hillary,” and other times was just plain ungracious. And, then, ripping up her copy of the speech while the President is standing in front of her????? Damn, Pelosi has one of the diseases of old age—the loss of filters.

    Regarding the President’s not shaking the Speaker’s hand at the beginning, I believe the President did not shake the hand of either the Vice President or the Speaker.

  6. Honoring a 100 year old Tuskegee airman and his 13 year old great grandson. Excellent.

    Also like the medal of honor to Rush.

    While Pelosi ripped up the SOTU copy, that might be seen as tit-for-tat, as Trump didn’t shake Pelosi’s hand before the speech. At this stage, there is bad blood between Pubs and Demos, so I can’t be surprised at the Trump-Pelosi interactions before and after the speech.

    It appears that the speech was more about things that unite America, and not so much about conflicts between Demos and Pubs.Can the aftermath of this speech ratchet down the hostility at least a little bit?

    I didn’t watch the SOTU address, but having read enough about it, I am going to look for it on YouTube.

  7. Pelosi was asked why she ripped up the speech, and she replied: “It was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative.” Seems like she ripped it up rather than stomping on it, burning it, or pissing on it.

    Lovely.

    Dana Perino points out on Fox that Pelosi could have claimed the high road and said Trump didn’t shake her hand when she extended it at the outset (although it’s not clear whether he even saw her do it). But by tearing the speech up she looked awful, and forfeited any high road she might have claimed.

  8. Many have commented on President Trump refusing to shake Pelosi’s hand.

    It also looked to me like he did not shake Pence’s hand when he handed him his copy – so it may not have been a Pelosi only ‘snub’.

    Even if it were, Pelosi’s behavior towards Trump, and her disgraceful impeachment farce, are surely ample grounds for what used to be called a ‘cut direct’.

    One might say Trump should not cut a lady, but Pelosi is a politician and no lady.

  9. Neo: Trump didn’t shake her hand when she extended it at the outset (although it’s not clear whether he even saw her do it).

    BBC made a big deal out of this during their live blogging. They pontificated about how this was going to be the focus of all reporting tomorrow and it was going to overshadow everything else in the speech. Ripping up the speech took care of all that so they switched to “how did Trump provoke Pelosi” angle.

    I lean toward the explanation that Trump snubbed her after seeing the video. Yes he didn’t shake Pence’s hand either but he doesn’t seem to offer it. This was their first meeting after she stated in the WH meeting that “all roads lead to Putin” before she left or got thrown out. I wouldn’t put it beyond Trump to refuse the handshake.

  10. As some of you may know, Venezuela is an issue we follow and care deeply about. We were bowled over by the inclusion of the issue and Guaidó in the speech. There were many questioning Trump’s commitment on this. That theory is now dispelled.

    In general, I think Trump did very well. He looked and sounded presidential.

    I saw that a lot of his special guests were black. That and his Superbowl ad tell me that in the coming election he is going court the black and minority vote heavily. He already has the voters that got him his first term. If he wrests the black vote from the Democrats, it will be a landslide victory.

  11. Andy wrote,

    this was their first meeting after she stated in the WH meeting that “all roads lead to Putin” before she left or got thrown out.

    Yes. And it’s also their first meeting since Pelosi gleefully signed the articles of impeachment and handed out celebratory pens. Pelosi is disgusting.

    On the other hand, as Andrew Breitbart, of blessed memory, noted, politics is downstream from culture. If mainstream media applauds Pelosi, she might win this war over a purported snub.

  12. It was a top notch SOTU. Hit the right level of trying to lower the temperature in D.C., IMO.

    Outstanding presentation of guests. Worth watching just to see Rush, the Tuskegee airman (What a guy!), the young girl who got a scholarship, and the homecoming of the Staff Sergeant. (What a beautiful thing.)

    Trump can be Presidential when he wants to and he wanted to tonight. I think he didn’t shake Pelosi’s hand because you don’t shake hands with someone who has just tried to ruin you. I wouldn’t, and I expect he feels the same.

    The Dems know they are in trouble and it infuriates them. Too bad, so sad.

  13. Roy Nathanson: As some of you may know, Venezuela is an issue we follow and care deeply about.

    Why? Please enlighten us. The only two relevant facts that I know which would lead one to elevate the importance of Venezuela are, one, the large oil reserves although that relevance is negated now that US has oil independence, or far more importantly that disproportionately large number of Miss World and Miss Universe pageant winners have been Venezuelan.

  14. AesopFan, I am very familiar with the degeneration in that country. I am old enough to remember that one of the stops for Concorde was Caracas. They had regular flights so that Venezuelans could shop in Paris. I am not sure the last time the flagship Hermes shop, which by the way is beautiful, was visited by a native Venezuelan.

  15. AesopFan: Mollie Hemingway on the award to Rush Limbaugh. (What marvelous timing on that, by the way.)

    Initially the SOTU was simply forwarded to the Congress. It would be great to revert back to that as we could do without all the theatrics. But then this kind of thing is catnip to the base of the two parties, albeit not simultaneously.

  16. When you shoot at the king…

    And they’ve missed so many times all Nancy’s got left is bad theatrics and worse geriatrics. Just another day in the Office for POTUS.

    But wait for the Trump 2020 campaign to really get rolling…the ads write themselves.

  17. Harvested from CTH comments.

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/04/white-house-announces-special-guests-for-state-of-the-union-address/#comment-7816900

    bruzedorange says:
    February 4, 2020 at 7:14 pm
    There’s a nationwide drinking game for the SOTU tonight. You slam a shot everytime the Democrats stand and applaud something President Trump says.

    It’s being promoted by Alcoholics Anonymous.

    https://i.imgflip.com/3o6kfw.jpg

    https://i.imgflip.com/3nu72b.jpg

    Finally, it looks like the President didn’t want to risk waiting.
    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-invites-rush-limbaugh-to-state-of-the-union-address-following-cancer-diagnosis

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/president-trump-to-award-rush-limbaugh-the-medal-of-freedom-reports

    I saw video of Rush talking to the press coming into the building and he knew that the President had decided to award him the Medal of Freedom, but, judging from his reaction later, I don’t think he expected it to happen right then, as it was only decided on Tuesday, and varied reports had it happening: sometime in the next few months, next week, or on Wednesday.

    When Mr. Trump started talking about the serviceman separated from his family on his 4th deployment to Afghanistan IIRC: did anyone else recognize the trademark lead-in from “This Is Your Life,” where the host brings on the guests’ long-lost relatives and surprises them to the audience’s great delight?

    Brilliant showmanship, as well as authentic generosity.

  18. Read and savor the gusto again.
    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/04/transcript-of-president-trump-state-of-the-union-address/

    I noticed that the section about Sergeant Williams does NOT announce his arrival – a really well kept secret!

    https://heavy.com/news/2020/02/trump-reunites-amy-williams-townsend-williams-sotu-video/

    While social media shared the emotions on Twitter after seeing the touching reunion, the U.S. Army shared their own video of Sergeant Townsend Williams. He introduced himself and says, “I did a branch transfer in 2005 from the International Guard after I saw the 82nd Paratroopers, I realized that’s what I wanted to be. I hold service to my country, my unit, and my men very close to my heart. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without my family and I’m grateful to be able to serve in the United States Army. God Bless America.”

    There’s always a critic, though.

    While it’s absolutely touching to see such a dramatic reunion, to orchestrate such a moment during the SOTU did not sit well with all viewers.

    One Twitter user shared, “If there is one things Trump understands (and I say that loosely), it’s gimmicks & rating! Trump wanted Stg. [sic]Townsend Williams to suprises[sic] his family during the SOTU because then people are talking about how sweet that is instead of questioning their presidents policies! #SOTU.”

    Real-Time host Bill Maher tweeted that this moment seemed like a stunt produced by Mark Burnett, the former producer of Trump’s competition reality series, The Apprentice.

    Well, duh!

    I guess they have already forgotten about Obama being interviewed by, among other gimmicky stunt-makers, the lady who bathes in her breakfast.

    https://jezebel.com/watch-the-woman-who-ate-cereal-out-of-a-bathtub-intervi-1681195179

    I chose this post because the writer was so tickled that Obama’s antics infuriated the Old Guard.
    They can dish it out, from bathtubs or not, but they can’t take it.

  19. Pelosi looks small to the Right, but looms large on the Left.

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/04/speaker-nancy-pelosi-tears-up-president-trump-speech-transcript-following-state-of-the-union/comment-page-4/#com
    ment-7819524

    JustScott says:
    February 5, 2020 at 12:30 am
    Yet, when you t a look through the ultimate TDS lens, of 150 comments at D.Kos 2 were mildly against, and the rest were like: “”

    She just stole the spotlight from trump. AGAIN She is the headline now lol.
    OMG! Perfecto
    Perfection!
    I’m in awe.
    Go girl! Saw it in real time! Beautiful!

    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/4/1916708/–Breaking-Speaker-Pelosi-steals-the-night-again?utm_campaign=trending#comment_76174566

    The inmate have totally taken over what used to be the dem party.

  20. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/04/speaker-nancy-pelosi-tears-up-president-trump-speech-transcript-following-state-of-the-union/comment-page-4/#comment-7819687

    arsumbris says:
    February 5, 2020 at 1:12 am
    This was hands down, the most moving “show me, don’t tell me” state of the union speech I’ve ever seen. We won’t hear about how great it was, but we’ll SEE how great it was in the next election. This was a historic speech, and hammered the Dem opposition more than anything imaginable. Trump didn’t deliver a speech, he gave a closing argument in a cosmic case about the definition of America and Americans as a nation. He showed us America THE NATION, and there is no rebuttal to that. He gave the Dems all the rope in the world to hang themselves with, especially with Independents.

    M W says:
    February 5, 2020 at 1:15 am
    Pelosi tore up a speech in which was announced Historic American low unemployment rates for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Women and Black Youth. Think of the meaning of that. Dems refused to stand or applaud those accomplishments because Dems view minorities and women as bludgeons with which to Politically assault Republicans…. Republicans view minorities as Citizens deserving of opportunity…Those two viewpoints are irreconcilable. There will be Civil War

    Kos Kids loved Pelosi, but other Democrats are no longer so fond of her side of the aisle.

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/04/speaker-nancy-pelosi-tears-up-president-trump-speech-transcript-following-state-of-the-union/comment-page-4/#comment-7819812

    sundance says:
    February 5, 2020 at 2:00 am
    Backlash…. from Democrats.

    “Our Democrat Party has been stolen by communists…”

    “I am literally disgusted with Pelosi…”

    “There are groups like us. Minorities that support Trump…”

    C-SPAN is lit.

    Dem callers are turning on their own party in droves after Pelosi’s embarrassing display at the #SOTU.

    Embedded video

    I can’t find the original of the video, but it shows a journalist & view of Capitol, with audio of a woman caller who declared that she was a Democrat but would never vote for them again. Powerful if legitimate; another convert for the #WalkAway bunch.

  21. President Trump mentioned himself uncharacteristically often (he doesn’t use I and me nearly to the extent Obama did), but he had good cause. Here is a good article on his accomplishments from last month. Gordon closes a long list with this:

    https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/promises-promises-trump/

    Donald Trump is vulgar, mendacious, ungentlemanly, and possesses at least half a dozen other undesirable character traits. He has also kept his political promises, an uncommon political trait, and thereby made life better for the majority of Americans.

    In 1980, Ronald Reagan won a huge victory over Jimmy Carter (who carried fewer states than Herbert Hoover in 1932) by simply asking, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

    Donald Trump might well ask, with characteristic braggadocio, “Is there any way that you are NOT better off than you were four years ago?”

    John Steele Gordon, a contributor to Commentary’s blog, is the author of An Empire of Wealth.

  22. That was the official copy the President is required to turn over to the Speaker. Wouldn’t it be amusing if she were now charged with destruction of government property?

  23. A bravura performance by Trump. For the rest, There Will be Blood. We don’t know when or what will set it off, but it’s inevitable.

  24. A dirty speech? That’s just a bizarre accusation.

    Sundown Joe isn’t the only one suffering through ‘mild cognitive decline’.

  25. For the rest, There Will be Blood

    We’ll see in nine months if they have any milkshake left.

  26. Great speech. Trump 2020.
    80% probability, not 99%, based on the likelihood of some bad October Surprise or recession which the Dems will jump on and hugely publicize.

    Dems who hate Trump will like that Pelosi stunt of tearing up Trump’s SotU America is Great speech. Most independents who think about it will like the speech, and like Trump’s results. More will vote Trump this time than 2016.

    More will vote Trump this time than 2016.

    More will vote for Trump – speech a success.

  27. Trump might have angered Pelosi by not shaking her hand at the beginning

    I have seen this elsewhere. The usual script for those occasions is for the Speaker to say, “It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce…” She just said his title. That was why he ignored her hand,if indeed he saw it.

  28. A kind of political masterpiece, this speech.

    Seems to me the undercurrent of this powerful, dead serious speech is this: I’m going to destroy the Democrat Party with your help loyal Americans — and with yours too, loyal Resistance Democrats. Thanks to you all.

  29. That was why he ignored her hand, if indeed he saw it.

    My impression was different to this, Mike. He saw her hand. She put him through an unjust impeachment proceeding for the last two months now (disregarding the truthful aspect that the Democrats intended to impeach him since his election). There was no way he would offer her any courtesy beyond the absolutely necessary, and shaking her hand is not necessary. Mere acknowledgement is quite enough. Feelings must be known and understood here. So, the showing out.

  30. Two months understates the length of the torment, sorry. House Res. 660 passed Oct. 31st, and the farcical HPSCI investigation had been lawlessly underway for weeks already at that time. So, worse then.

  31. Compare and Contrast:

    Democrats call those who didn’t vote for them names … bitter clingers … deplorables … racists … worse than Nazi’s

    Republicans appeal to those who didn’t vote for us …
    honored at SOTU … reforming the Justice system that D’s like Sen Harris used to jail them … created more and better jobs for those who didn’t vote for us

  32. Tuvea, excellent comment. Trump took the high road during the SOTU address, such as honoring the Tuskegee airman. SanFran Nan took the low road by tearing up her paper copy of Trump’s speech.

    One point about the rhetoric from both sides is our side calling Bernie a Commie. Bernie and friends probably consider this a slur. After all, nowadays Bernie calls himself a Democratic Socialist who considers Scandinavia his model. Ironically, many Scandinavians consider it a slur to call their system Socialist or Democratic Socialist, as it is based on a highly taxed free enterprise system, not the government ownership of Socialism. Bear in mind that over the decades, Bernie has made repeated pleas for more government ownership of the economy- for more Socialism NOT like the economies in Scandinavia. In August 2019, Bernie called for public ownership of utilities.

    But nowadays Bernie is reluctant to call Maduro a dictator. Seems to me that holding a rigged election in May 2018 where Maduro’s main opponents aren’t permitted to run is just what dictators do. Why is Bernie reluctant to call dictator Maduro a dictator? Nowadays Bernie had the same reaction to the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff that Maduro did- that the impeachment was a “coup.” Though Bernie hedged this by stating that a lot of people considered it a coup.

    Bernie’s praise of Fidel has nothing to do with “Democratic Socialism.” No Democratic Socialist would believe that the Cubans have an “almost religious affection” for Fearless Leader Fidel when Fearless Leader Fidel refuses to test that “almost religious affection” with elections. After all, Democratic Socialists believe that countries should hold elections.

    Yet Bernie believed that the Cuban people had an “almost religious affection” for Fearless Leader Fidel because that is what his translators told him. Is Bernie fool enough to believe that Cubans would give a candid opinion of Fearless Leader Fidel to a translator- a translator whom most Cubans would assume was government supplied?

  33. I posted this comment on another site (LegalIns)…

    About that handshake, I found a video of the 2019 SOTU speech and looked at the start of it.

    Trump handed the speech copy to the VP, without shaking hands and then to Pelosi. She did extend her hand and they shook hands and Trump said some words to her. He then shook hands with Pence.

    Going back to the 2018 SOTU, Trump hands the speech copies to Ryan, then Pence and did not shake hands with either one.

    Way back to the 2016 SOTU, Obama probably kissed every woman while going down the aisle and even got a big hug from RBG. He gave Biden and Ryan the copies of the speech and did not appear to shake hands but turned around to start the speech.

    So, there is no tradition of shaking hands.

    The ripping of the speech was very tacky. Most Ds will enjoy the drama, the Rs will dislike it and the opinion of the middle crowd will be all the place. I suspect that people who respect the “Office of the President” will not look favorably on the stunt. Unfortunately, the discussion of the handshake and the ripping will probably overshadow what was said in the speech.

    An additional thought – the Ds will move onto another talking point, but these actions by Pelosi will remain in the minds of many people and will just increase their participation in November. It will be interesting to see the fundraising amounts after the speech.

  34. Ol’ Nancy seems to be moving them around and sucking on her dentures more and more these days, plus darting her eyes around like a bird, and her tearing up her official copy of the SOTU speech–containing a long litany of President Trump’s accomplishments–was just spiteful and petty; she’s “lost it,” in more ways than one.

  35. Even in light of “normal” SF politician behavior, Pelosi was bizarre. Mainly, didnt she realize the impact of the visual?
    Imagine the gop ad: slow-mo of her tearing the speech, with voiceover of Trump talking about record low minority unemployment.
    Tds has killed off her last asset, which was a kind of low political cunning.

  36. Tds has killed off her last asset, which was a kind of low political cunning.

    I think you’ve got her nailed. She had five children, which takes skill in the domestic sphere. It’s difficult to ascertain outside that sphere anything of her own other than the ability to navigate the politics of a collection of Democratic politicians. She’s not had much experience with competitive elections (her last difficult contest was in 1987), nor has she held any office other than member of Congress. She landed in Congress because she was a protege of Phillip and Sala Burton, who employed her, then sponsored her for Democratic State chairman in California, then for the seat in Congress that had been held first by Phillip and then by Sala. Look at her legislative record. She has sponsored a mess of minor constituent-service measures. She has no policy chops at all.

  37. There is no way, unless you have a raging, irrational hatred for Trump, that this does not look bizarre and immature. You start to understand that if Trump rescued a puppy from a flooded river, or a child from a burning building, the “lost-it” wing of the far left would respond the same way.

    If this sort of display doesn’t make any remaining normals in the nominal D ranks really squirm I’m not sure what it will take. They have to realize that they are on the wrong side.

  38. Art Deco, that’s the second belly laugh you’ve given me this week. Milkshake indeed. (It’s a reference to a pivotal scene in There Will Be Blood.) As to the original comment, let’s hope there are no attempted political assassinations coming.

    Angry Nancy and her party of hate. How lovely.

    I suspect that Trump had no intention of shaking her hand at the outset. Also, the Dems have a long tradition of being extremely duplicitous as to their on-camera versus behind closed doors behavior.

    Bob Dole once remarked that Clinton was “an extremely good liar.” The context of that comment was that there had been a two party parley at the Clinton Whitehouse with many promises made and an agreement as to the off-the-record content. The Clintons immediately violated all of that as soon as the cameras were switched on.

    I do think Nancy was livid from the handshake snub. Also, I thought I discerned something like winces on Nancy’s face, as she absorbed the political body blows that Trump delivered. He was hitting the Dems where they live. He’s adding millions of extra jobs and trillions to the economy, and Whitmer’s people are filling potholes with dirt. That will last about a week. And Bernie is ranting that the billionaires are still getting richer. Focus on the envy!

    How about those opportunity zones? It’s an old idea, but I had not heard or read a scintilla of information about this. It’s one of the problems with massive pieces of legislation, but still. Nobody said anything that I saw. GOP, get your act together please.

  39. h/t Mollie Hemingway

    Elaine on Twitter thread: https://mobile.twitter.com/elbh/status/1225091873988964353

    **A decorum observation, thread: you don’t have to like the President’s crassness and tone to understand why Nancy’s speech ripping is perceived as different than his twitter baiting. It’s also an absolute pillar of communication. Let me explain. [1]

    President Trump, like it or not, has communicated one thing clearly and unequivocally. It started in the last election. Hillary was going around asking people to use the slogan “I’m with her.” Candidate Trump saw that, instinctively knew it was against the American grain and took [2] the opposite position. His message was “I’m with YOU!” He will attack other politicians, the press, entertainers. Bureaucrats. But he seems to be careful to never attack Americans themselves. Voters of any stripe are not called dumb or deplorable. Or racist or sexist. [3] He does call out bad behavior like he did regarding gangs. If you go back and actually listen to his words in most cases IN CONTEXT you will see it’s very careful to not to insult average PEOPLE, although in most situations he will call out bad behavior. [4] What he’s done is be inclusive, just as Van Jones alluded to last night. His basic premise is this: “You want me to stand up for you against the machine? ok, I’ll do that to. I’ll take the pain. Don’t care who you are. Come on.” This positions him as the stand in for CITIZENS. [5] Because of this, when Nancy rips up a speech & says there is no truth in it; or AOC doesn’t attend or listen; Or the Democrats sit on their hands and don’t applaud good things…they don’t realize how many more Americans are starting to see that as an attack on them. [6] The Democrats see it as an attack on the President. They are “resisting.” But the frame of reference for that resistance is not the man, but those he had agreed to stand up for. The regular folks. Any color, any sexuality, any religion, urban or rural. Trump doesn’t care. [7] Because it’s not about Him. It’s about those he represents. He knows how to bring people into the tent, not push them out. You may not be a fan of his style, but he’s incredibly effective. And it’s possible that this style is the only grenade that could have made it happen. [8] He’s not afraid to take on his own party when they want to be in control just like the left. Trump also knows you can be the greatest peace maker in the world but if you don’t get attention, it won’t matter. [9] Now. His policy effectiveness is, like ALL politicians a mixed bag. But if you can’t admit that things are going very well for many, and many who have been forgotten, you are blind. [10] Can Trump loose? Yes. An election can never be taken for granted. But from where I sit right now, this bullying people into being able to control them isn’t working well for the Democrats. And they continue to double down. [11] Trump is a trash-talking, crass, character-challenged man. But he does one thing extremely well and that is to communicate directly to the truly disenfranchised in our country.

    We’d be well served to appreciate him for that. [12] **

  40. As has been mentioned above, Pelosi might have impressed the Leftists in her party, but lost a lot of others.

    https://pjmedia.com/trending/backfire-i-will-never-vote-democrat-again-say-angry-dems-on-c-span-after-pelosis-tantrum/

    After Pelosi and her White Witches threw their little fits of rage last night at the SOTU, they felt very smug about themselves. Their voters, on the other hand, felt differently. It turns out that most Americans think you should stand up and clap for the good things that happen in America instead of sulk and pout on your butt like a spoiled child.

    C-SPAN asked people to call in and give their opinions on the SOTU. What happened after that was brilliant.

    According to people who watched it live, there were many more calls saying the same thing. All the Democrats had to do was look normal, and they couldn’t even do that. It’s almost as if they have a death wish. I’m not complaining, but dang! That was some seriously bad optics, folks! Considering that the Trump rally in New Jersey drew a crowd of 25% Democrats (who were all cheering and screaming for the president) I think they are in big, YUGE trouble. What do you think?

  41. https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/05/13-key-takeaways-from-president-trumps-epic-state-of-the-union-address/
    Mollie Hemingway

    The speech was well written and played to President Trump’s strengths as a showman, showing policy goals and successes through the gripping stories of real Americans who were present in the balcony. But ultimately the speech was good because the facts were so good.

    Clearly Democrats had made an agreement to be hostile to President Trump. Many of them sat on their hands no matter the topic. In fact, one leader of the Democratic Party, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, announced her refusal to even show up to the speech.

    As President Trump listed economic successes, going into granular detail about how the economy had helped minorities and women, Democrats’ refusal to clap looked odd. By the time people were refusing to clap for 100-year-old heroes such as Tuskegee Airman Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, the oppositional stance looked downright absurd.

    Smack dab in the middle of the speech, President Trump thanked conservative hero Rush Limbaugh for “decades of tireless devotion” to the country. In recognition of his work and the inspiration he has provided millions of Americans, Trump announced the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He had Melania Trump immediately present the honor in front of the assembled crowd.

    While it is beyond common for liberal heroes and liberal celebrities to receive awards, Republican leaders acted over the course of decades almost as if it was okay for conservatives to be treated as second-class citizens in this regard. President Trump recognizes that the half of the country that is not liberal also likes to honor its celebrities and heroes.

    Limbaugh has taught millions of Americans about conservative ideology, emphasizing the Constitution and the country’s founding ideals, and suffered attacks from the left as a result. He is a folk hero who is beloved in part because he defends tens of millions of Americans against attacks.

    No other previous Republican president or nominee would have had the courage to bestow this award on such a deserving American. They would instead have worried about a media backlash. The media and Democrats did in fact react negatively to the honor for Limbaugh, who announced this week he has advanced cancer.

    One of the reasons President Trump won in 2016 was his opposition to the way we fight wars. At the same time, he is willing to use American force to advance American interests. This confuses the foreign policy groups at either extreme. When discussing his desire to end the war in Afghanistan, he said of America’s warfighters that they are “the best in the world, and they either want to fight to win or not fight at all.”

    This foreign policy has been confusing to many in the establishment, but it is a return to the foreign policy embraced by Republican presidents Eisenhower through Reagan, a form of peace through strength.

    The decision to be hostile throughout the speech caused Democrats to look small and petty, particularly as President Trump spoke of big successes and big goals for the future. Pelosi appeared distracted during the speech, rifling through papers and chomping on her gums. Her ripping stunt at the end of the speech was extremely well received by the media and other partisans on Twitter, but was less likely to play well among average voters.

  42. AesopFan on February 5, 2020 at 1:48 am said:

    When Mr. Trump started talking about the serviceman separated from his family on his 4th deployment to Afghanistan IIRC: did anyone else recognize the trademark lead-in from “This Is Your Life,” where the host brings on the guests’ long-lost relatives and surprises them to the audience’s great delight?

    Brilliant showmanship, as well as authentic generosity.
    * * *
    Always nice to be in good company — old, but good.
    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/02/chris-cuomo-praises-trumps-sotu-address.php

    All of this is great television. If there was dry eye in the viewing audience, it wasn’t mine.

    But there is a “Queen for a day” or “This is your life” quality to these flourishes. I would prefer that they not be used.

    It was inevitable, though, that one day they would be. And it was natural that President Trump, a master showman, would be the first to do it.

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