Top Conservatives React to SOTU: 'Best Performance Yet'
President Donald Trump earned rave reviews from top conservatives for a State of the Union address Tuesday that focused on the greatness of America’s past while calling for unity to meet its challenges of the president.
Trump began his speech by casting off the shrouds of gloom that permeate political Washington and declaring that the speech came not at a time of unprecedented gridlock, but of “unlimited potential. As we begin a new Congress, I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans.”
“There is a new opportunity in American politics, if only we have the courage to seize it. Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country,” the president said.
Trump cited domestic and foreign issues in his address, but his foundation for work on any problem facing the nation was the birth of a new political order.
He said that “we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution — and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise, and the common good. Together, we can break decades of political stalemate. We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future. The decision is ours to make.”
Trump said that the American people, and their representatives, have options.
“We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction. Tonight, I ask you to choose greatness,” he said.
The response was overwhelming.
Best performance yet as POTUS. Comfortable, confident and in no apparent hurry. Humor always wins. https://t.co/zFCK8qHo7B
— BILL HEMMER (@BillHemmer) February 6, 2019
Trump has succeeded in getting more Democratic applause than I expected with some of his bipartisan talk, especially about women
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) February 6, 2019
Trump’s #SOTU was the strongest speech of his presidency. It may not change the math much overall — there’s not a lot of give in his numbers — but it’s a reminder that when he’s on-script, his depiction of an America that is essentially good is still compelling.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 6, 2019
“In a speech that will surely enter the history books, the president put forth the choice in stark terms: ‘greatness or gridlock,’ ‘vision or vengeance,’” wrote Roger Kimball in The Spectator.
“He called on Congress to get behind a long list of legislative initiatives to help America. ‘Look at the opportunities before us,’ he said in his peroration. Will we choose to be ‘defined by our differences’ or have the courage and good will to transcend them?” Kimball wrote.
“The ball is now in the court of the Democrats and their spokesmen in the mainstream media, the academy, and the lamentable NeverTrump sorority. I understand that they will be unhappy as they digest this remarkable piece of oratory. Even the white-clad ghostly feminists had to stand and applaud at some of the president’s remarks. How that must have hurt Nancy and Chuck,” he wrote.
This has been a deeply adept speech in terms of policy. He cut to the muscle on legal and illegal immigration, on abortion and infanticide, on foreign wars. His vow on socialism will be remembered. Great heroes in the balcony, a real American panoply. 1
— Peggy Noonan (@Peggynoonannyc) February 6, 2019
Tonight, @POTUS played the statesman role. Strong, clear, and tough. @realDonaldTrump didn’t just offer an olive branch, but the entire olive tree. Dems say they want infrastructure, fewer wars, better oppotunities for women–let’s see if they really do.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 6, 2019
One commentator said Trump’s speech was reminiscent of former President Ronald Reagan.
“President Trump delivered the best, most Reaganesque speech of his tenure Tuesday night,” Henry Olsen, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, wrote in an Op-Ed in The Washington Post.
“Whatever one thinks about Roe v. Wade, the specter of abortion at a time when it could easily be possible to save the life of the soon-to-be-born child was rightly condemned by Trump,” Olsen added.
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