“Amazing,” “inspirational,” and “visionary” were just some of the words used by conservatives to heap praise on President Donald Trump‘s first State of the Union address following its completion on Tuesday night.
The speech, which was one of the longest in history, was mostly a list of perceived accomplishments by Trump with a few sprinkled in moments that rankled Democrats, particularly on immigration and culture issues.
However, while many Democrats are stewing with anger following the State of the Union, major conservative names spent the hours following the speech fawning over it.
Fox News host Sean Hannity called the speech “visionary,” and declared that “America is back,” while dismissing any criticism of the speech—of which there was a lot.
https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/958543082592657408
Hannity wasn’t alone with exhaustive praise of the president, with at least one conservative personality saying Trump’s address was reminiscent of former President Ronald Reagan.
GREAT SPEECH. Beautifully delivered. I think he’s covered everything. Look for the exit signs, start proceeding directly to them.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 31, 2018
Tonight’s State of the Union was Reagan quality—visionary, personal, with wide ranging reforms
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) January 31, 2018
#sotu I would give my left arm to deliver this speech for DJT tonight. So well written … can I be a pinch hitter? POTUS can run the bases and get the glory. This speech deserves the Reagan delivery.
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) January 31, 2018
THE GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 31, 2018
America now has a President that stands with our vets, stands for our flag, has turned our economy around, and is making AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
A great speech, by a great @POTUS! @realDonaldTrump delivered an impressive and compelling one hour, 20 minute speech #MAGA #TrumpTrain #AmericaFirst https://t.co/Lo8vg2V8mp
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) January 31, 2018
Trump’s address took a sharp tone when he discussed immigration. The president used the violence by gang MS-13 to segue into immigration policies, delighting his base.
The undercurrent of the rhetoric on immigration was as nationalist as ever, with Trump calling on Congress to “finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13 and other criminal gangs to break into our country.”
Ha he emphasized “GANGS” and I love my president! #SOTU
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) January 31, 2018
He also drew support for his base explicitly calling out “chain migration.” That sparked one of the speech’s more divisive moments, when he was booed by Democrats but lauded by the right.
As President Trump spoke of restricting so-called “chain migration,” Democrats hissed in disapproval https://t.co/4atWCrhdKW pic.twitter.com/G0THTpzCzV
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/mike_Zollo/status/958535974883090433
But it wasn’t just the conservative personalities who were enthralled with the speech. A number of sites began praising the president following the conclusion of the State of the Union. The Daily Caller, a far-right website, led with a prominent headline declaring that “Trump’s State of the Union rocks the House.” The site singled out the line ‘Americans are dreamers, too’ delivered by the president. It was lauded by a number of conservatives as a way undercut Democratic rhetoric on DACA.
“Americans are Dreamers, too.” DEMS ARE GOING TO HATE THIS!
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 31, 2018
Trump also played to his base by reviving his current favorite culture war, discussing why Americans stand for the national anthem.
As Pres. Trump addresses “why we proudly stand for the national anthem,” which appeared to allude to NFL anthem protest, House chamber erupts into loud cheers https://t.co/q18EZzVe9p pic.twitter.com/iBMZX2J4yy
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2018
While conservatives may have loved the speech, Democrats felt differently.
On Tuesday night “Thanks Obama” was trending on Twitter while the president listed off statistics about unemployment in the United States. One of Trump’s favorite statistics—Black unemployment—garnered an enthusiastic “Thanks Obama” response, with people tweeting charts showing how unemployment for African Americans steadily declined from 2010 until Obama’s term ended in 2016.
