17 of the best Twitter reactions to Trump’s first State of the Union address
Tonight, fresh off that very high-profile spelling error, Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address and it was…long. Speaking for a reported 80 minutes, Trump more or less stuck to his prepared statement, heavily praising the newly passed Republican tax plan, a booming stock market — which, technically has been continuing the steady growth that began under the Obama administration, but that’s neither here nor there — and calling for bipartisan support for a $1.5 billion infrastructure bill.
Trump touted his first year in office as an “extraordinary success,” completely ignoring the fact that his approval rating for the year is a meager 38%, not to mention that the majority of his time in office has been plagued with scandal — and seems to be snowballing daily. His speech was also devoid of really any reference to Puerto Rico, which is still grappling with electricity, food, and water shortages nearly four months after suffering severe devastation from Hurricane Maria. Alongside Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and The Virgin Islands — who were also hit with severe hurricanes in the fall — Puerto Rico got a simple “we love you” from the president.
But while the Trump administration suggested the president’s address would be somewhat optimistic, what he had to say regarding immigration reform was downright terrifying. After a lengthy lead-in involving MS-13 and the oft-repeated xenophobic idea that immigrants enter the U.S. to steal American jobs and commit crimes, Trump launched into his “four pillars” of immigration, favoring a “merit-based immigration system” over one keeping families together.
While Trump’s first State Of The Union was unsurprisingly not the optimistic, “unifying” speech the administration had marketed it to be, we can at least take solace in these tweets, which captured the sadly funny, often hypocritical, never-ending nature of the address.
do u guys think it’s gonna be Melania who yells “you lie!” tonight
— alyssa mastromonaco (@AlyssaMastro44) January 31, 2018
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) January 31, 2018
I haven't seen this many old white men applaud since Steely Dan played Coachella #SOTU
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) January 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/958527862079967234
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Half of the new jobs Trump has created are just federal prosecutors
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) January 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/958525406612770816
Donald Trump may be the first president to channel Vanna White during an official address, extending his arm out and across while revealing particulars.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) January 31, 2018
In conclusion pic.twitter.com/0k28VSQlGm
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 31, 2018
Jokes aside, writer Clint Smith reiterated Trump’s very real habit of using grieving families to hype up his xenophobic plans:
Just to be clear: Trump brought out a grieving family to use as a part of a political performance meant to demonize immigrants as being inherently violent when the research clearly shows that immigrants, both documented & undocumented, commit less crime than native born Americans
— Clint Smith (@ClintSmithIII) January 31, 2018
Find someone who hate claps at you the way @timkaine does. #SOTU pic.twitter.com/mQhUp7XBPv
— Carol Ray Hartsell (@carolrhartsell) January 31, 2018
when you're both dead inside but for very different reasons pic.twitter.com/m9wyBkbURC
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) January 31, 2018
And Representative Eric Swalwell pointed out Trump’s immigration hypocrisy immediately after he introduced the plan:
Is he for real? “His family followed” @realDonaldTrump tells story of North Korean refugee in same speech where he calls for end to family reunification. #sotu
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/958541017900376064
Somewhere in Fall River @joekennedy is worrying he over hydrated having misjudged how long @realDonaldTrump would talk
— Victoria McGrane (@vgmac) January 31, 2018
Starting to feel like the last third of a karaoke rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) January 31, 2018
Congratulations. Everyone who watched this entire speech is now the same age as me. Best of luck.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) January 31, 2018
And just like that, we’re a year away from the next one.