February 7, 2023
Well that State of the Union was…lively.
And I’m pretty sure for the first time we witnessed the President and the opposing party make a deal right in the middle of the speech. I’m going to tell you about that in a second. And you’ll also hear the republican rebuttal to the state of the union. But first a few tidbits –
The President talked for about an hour and 12 minutes. That’s about 10 minutes longer than his state of the union last year. He hit on a lot on a topics. But overall he talked about Democrats and Republicans working together in the places where they have common ground.
In fact — before he even started the speech — the first thing he did was congratulate Speaker McCarthy on his victory.
The theme the President kept coming back to was let’s “finish the job.” Like capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month for all Americans not just the ones on Medicare, finish the job on his climate agenda on the monthly the child tax credit, on funding for border security and cracking down junk fees and big tech. The president also announced a new standard that would require all construction material used in federal infrastructure projects be made in America – an announcement that got a huge applause from both sides.
Speaking of applause – in case you didn’t know — it’s normal for the President’s party to stand up and applaud something he said while the other party stays seated. It’s even normal for every once in a while both democrats and republicans stand up and applaud something the President said.
But what I don’t think I’ve ever seen before is basically a deal made during the State of the Union.
It happened when the President talked about the debt ceiling and the fact that Republicans are pushing for spending cuts in exchange for raising it. President Biden quoted republican Senator Rick Scott’s plan from months ago that suggested possible cuts to entitlements like social security and Medicare. But the Republicans in the chamber were not having it. Booing Biden, insinuating that those cuts are off the table.
And then something kind of remarkable. Biden and the Republicans agreed to *not* cut Social Security and Medicare when they talk ultimately talk about spending cuts.
The Republican rebuttal was delivered by newly elected Arkansas Governor and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Her response repeatedly said it was time for a change in leadership.
