Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, February 8, 2023
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley summed it up: In his Tuesday night State of the Union address, Joe Biden was speaking from an “alternate reality.”
“It was like listening to Ronald Reagan in 1984 ‘Morning in America,’ except for most Americans say that their economic prospects are worse, that their family is less safe, that their neighborhood is in shambles, and they can’t get good paying jobs,” Hawley said.
Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack said: “Honestly it was like whiplash. It was really two State of the Unions happening at the same time, one that was completely divorced from reality and the other one that was absolutely infuriating. It’s frustrating.”
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called Biden’s speech “angry” and “partisan”:
“Joe Biden stands up and says he wants to secure the southern border. That is nothing but a laugh line because he spent two years undermining security at the border. When Joe Biden says he’s concerned about inflation, he takes the responsibility for the trillions in spending and debt that have caused the out-of-control inflation. … When he says that Americans’ enemies are weaker today. He’s standing up to China. Sadly, the entire world has laughed at the president while the Chinese spy balloon hovered over America for over a week. … We should have shot it down the instant it entered U.S. airspace. So I thought it was an angry speech. I thought it was a partisan speech. I thought it was a speech disconnected from working men and women.”
Other takeaways from Tuesday’s SOTU:
Arkansas governor delivers GOP response
Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “The dividing line in America is no longer between Right or Left. The choice is between normal or crazy. It’s time for a new generation of Republican leadership.”
She added: “I’m the first woman to lead my state, and he’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is.”
Former President Donald Trump’s response
Biden on fentanyl
Biden stated that fentanyl is killing 70,000 Americans a year without mentioning that the deadly drug is coming from China through his open borders.
As Republicans started to shout “secure the border,” Biden grinned and nodded and said: “You got it.”
Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles then was clearly heard yelling: “It’s your fault.”
Ogles noted in a post-State of the Union interview: “With the stroke of a pen, he could close the border – and he hasn’t done that.”
BIDEN: “Fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year.”
From the crowd: “IT’S YOUR FAULT!” pic.twitter.com/xO2y23BLp2
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 8, 2023
‘Liar’: MTG calls out old Joe
Biden at one point stated: “Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I’m not saying it’s the majority.”
Biden’s claims quickly sparked one of the largest responses of the night from Republicans who booed, jeered and shouted he was “lying.”
Biden loses total control of SOTU 2023 as he takes a swipe at Republicans, gets booed and MTG calls him a liar pic.twitter.com/3AeVhFziMB
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) February 8, 2023
Santos vs. Romney
New York Republican Rep. George Santos locked horns with Utah RINO Sen. Mitt Romney moments before the SOTU.
In December, the New York Times reported that Santos fabricated much of his life story, including lying about being Jewish.
Rep. George Santos describes, to me, his exchange with Sen. Mitt Romney during the State of the Union tonight:
Mitt: You don’t belong here.
Santos: Go tell that to the 142K that voted for me.
Mitt: You’re an ass.
Santos: You’re a much bigger asshole.
— Kadia Goba (@kadiagoba) February 8, 2023
Markey hearts abortion
Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Ed Markey showed up to the SOTU wearing a pin emblazoned with the word “abortion,” complete with a heart — which he probably didn’t mean as a nod to every heart that abortion violently stops.
I’m wearing my abortion pin from @PPFA to tonight’s State of the Union address. Abortion is essential healthcare and we need to codify this right. pic.twitter.com/ZfNj5OEZcj
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) February 8, 2023
Action . . . . Intelligence . . . . Publish