I'm watching the speech tonight. Two things to start. First, Democrats who aren't applauding his entrance and good news (like the job creation remarks) look petty, small, and unstatesmanlike. How the hell do you sit on your hands at a comment on lobbying bans? Ditto for the meeting with Trudeau. Even if you disagree with them, looking like a pissed off stiff is horrible optics. Those are must-clap lines. Second, Melania looks absolutely stunning, and it's more than raw hotness, though she hags plenty of that. She is just oozing with class and dignity.
His immigration and border security comments were outstanding. He made a powerful and uncontroversial case for border security and reform, and those who sat down look like fools. You can sit down when he calls for building the wall. That's polarizing. You can't sit down when he talks about border security in general.
He sounded good on infrastructure, and it's about the first comment he made that actually got a significant number of Democrats to stand up for.
The Obamacare repeal and replacement comments are a tougher case, not because Obamacare is particularly defensible but because the replacement part is sketchy. Nevertheless, he handled that conundrum as well as it could have been handled.
Making the voucher case and specifically mentioning millions black and Latino students - very smart. It forced Democrats to sit on their hands and roll their eyes while he talked about doing something big for the constituencies they pretend to care about the most. Probably the first time he really humiliated them.
The creation of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement was pretty bold, and he played the Democrats like a Stradivarius. Democrats audibly groaned when he announced it, but instead of responding or making a face, he used a soft and empathetic voice to commend specific crime victims in the gallery. The groaning, whiny Democrats just looked like insensitive pricks. That might have been one of the most brilliantly played moves I've ever seen in one of these speeches. I literally laughed out loud.
The pitch to veterans was also compelling, and even the Democrats had to stand and applaud.
His recognition of the slain war hero and his widow was nothing short of powerful. He seemed sincere and heartfelt. Furthermore, the widow looked noticeably moved and touched. I also saw several Democrats sitting during the first ovation and some not clapping. That was astounding and again, just terrible optics. I heard Van Jones comment on this, and even he had to admit that Trump truly became the President with that portion of the speech. He's right.
And how the hell do you sit on your hands when he says he represents the United States? Again, that's a must-clap line. Just looks terrible.
I also noticed that large numbers of Democrats bolted the room as fast as they could and didn't applaud at the end. Again, they just looked petty and small.
I'm still very much of a Trump skeptic, though I try to be a fair one. I didn't vote for and don't regret that vote. However, that might have been the best address I've seen before Congress in years, and it certainly was the poorest handled by the opposition I have ever seen. The Joe Wilson thing several years ago? Not even close. Trump was very unifying, very positive, and very patriotic, but he also seemed sincere. He didn't come across as phony. Furthermore, he didn't ramble. He was focused. In the face of his performance, the Democrats just looked childish, bitter, and immature. Just by being a nice guy, he truly kicked the living hell out of them. They should be totally embarrassed and totally ashamed today.
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