President Donald Trump may have told reporters prior to his 2018 State of the Union address that he wanted to emphasize “unity,” but the broader reaction to his speech suggests that it was as polarizing as much of the rest of his presidency.
Perhaps one sign came from Bernie Sanders, who delivered the fake clap that people seemed to feel.
Bernie clapping like Slytherin just won the house cup pic.twitter.com/CHIbHuuCr2
— DollyPartonSocialism 🥑 (@DPsocialism) January 31, 2018
Conservative supporters of the president were a bit more happy, characterizing his speech as an unmitigated triumph. Some of them singled out Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., for leaving the chamber in protest when Trump supporters began chanting “USA! USA!”
RUT-ROH, Trump haters…#SOTU pic.twitter.com/5VQNBIiumg
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) January 31, 2018
Dem leaves during #SOTU – triggered by "USA" chants. https://t.co/hmMtDtjyeG
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 31, 2018
Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez stormed out of Trump’s #SOTU speech after a “USA!” chant broke out.
Democrats hate America. pic.twitter.com/ivX2WvIvQV
— Ryan Saavedra 🇺🇸 (@RealSaavedra) January 31, 2018
Meanwhile, Democrats and other progressives took to Twitter to lambast Trump’s speech, a stark contrast to the bipartisan support that his previous State of the Union managed to accrue.
I went to the #SOTU. I wanted it burned into my eyes. If there’s ever a moment when I’m too tired to keep fighting, I just have to close my eyes & see @realDonaldTrump , @mike_pence & @pryan applauding themselves for punching working families in the gut, & I'm back in this fight.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 31, 2018
Las Vegas Shooter:
Not an immigrant
Sandy Hook Shooter:
Not an immigrant.
Charleston Church Shooter:
Not an immigrant.
Aurora Movie Theater Shooter:
Not an immigrant.
Texas Church Shooter:
Not an immigrant
Columbine Shooters:
Not immigrants.#SOTU— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) January 31, 2018
The reviews are in and the Grand Wizard gives @realDonaldTrump 5 burning crosses on his #SOTU speech.@Morning_Joe https://t.co/kLI1qqaBYm
— Moe Davis (U.S. Air Force, Retired) (@ColMoeDavis) January 31, 2018
#DonTheCon strikes again and again and again: PolitiFact's website went down during Trump's #SOTU address as the website fact-checked the speech. It rated nearly 70% of @RealDonaldTrump's statements as either "Mostly False," "False" or "Pants on Fire." https://t.co/M5sWyaEnR1
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) January 31, 2018
Among the more detached political analysts, the reaction was similarly split. Political consultant Frank Luntz lavished praise on the speech, while MSNBC’s analyst Chuck Todd argued that Trump’s words rang hollow because he hasn’t practiced what he preached.
This speech represents the presidential performance that Trump observers have been waiting for – brilliant mix of numbers and stories, humility and aggressiveness, traditional conservatism and political populism.
Only one word qualifies: Wow. #SOTU
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 31, 2018
The message tonight would be better received if he practiced what he’s preaching tonight about setting “aside our differences.” He won’t get the bipartisan response he’s looking for without some gesture beyond a few prepared words.
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) January 31, 2018
CNN’s Jake Tapper argued that the speech had a Jekyll-and-Hyde quality to it, metaphorically describing it as Trump “reaching out” to Democrats with one hand and “holding up a fist” with the other.
He added, “This really is the mystery of Donald Trump, the riddle of Donald Trump, the enigma that he will leave here thinking that he gave a very unifying speech.”
There was a similar lack of support for the speech on Fox News, where Chris Wallace argued that the speech wasn’t sufficiently bipartisan and Juan Williams admitted, “I don’t think this was the olive branch speech by any stretch that the White House has advertised.”
Polls taken after the speech indicated that reactions to it were similarly split on partisan lines. A CBS News poll found that Republicans were likely to approve of the speech, as were Trump-leaning independents, while Democrats and anti-Trump independents were not inclined to feel that way. A CNN poll, meanwhile, found that Trump’s speech had the poorest performance of any State of the Union message over the last 20 years, although it still garnered a 70 percent positive response from viewers.
In other words: The likelihood is that several weeks from now, no one will be talking about Trump’s State of the Union address this year.
