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Trump draws groans when State of the Union turns from ‘unity’ to ‘caravans’

President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address, delayed a week due to the partial government shutdown.

President Donald Trump greets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ahead of his second State of the Union address.
President Donald Trump greets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ahead of his second State of the Union address.Read morePool

President Donald Trump opened his second State of the Union address with a call for bipartisanship, calling on members of the new Democratic majority in the House to work with him to “govern not as two parties, but as one nation.”

“Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country,” Trump said. “We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good."

The president was greeted with boos when he shifted his speech from economic accomplishments to immigration, describing the situation at the border as a “urgent national crisis.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, standing behind the president, could be seen putting up her hand to halt the Democratic boos.

“As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States,” Trump said. “We have just heard that Mexican cities, in order to remove the illegal immigrants from their communities, are getting trucks and buses to bring them up to our country in areas where there is little border protection.”

Trump also doubled down on his call for a border wall to be built on the U.S.-Mexico border, declaring, “I will get it built."

Trump’s demands for $5.7 billion to fund the construction of a border wall led to a partial government shutdown that lasted a record 35 days, and threatens to push the country into another shutdown on Feb. 15. Trump suggested last week he could declare a national emergency in order to bypass Congress to secure the fund need for his wall, but that idea has drawn skepticism from many Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Here are some of the highlights:

Trump used 15 new words in his address

According to the Washington Post, Trump used 15 words that had never been previously said by a president in a joint address to Congress, dating back to George Washington.

Among the first-time words Trump used in his address were “bloodthirsty,” “sadistic,” “fentanyl” and “venomous.”

Trump used 16 new words in his first State of the Union last year, including “amputations,” “legend,” “opioid,” “spine” and “tormentors.”

Of course, Trump isn’t the first president to introduce new words to the history of presidential addresses. Barack Obama used the words “bisexual,” “lesbian” and “transgender” during his 2015 State of the Union speech, while President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union speech used “caves,” “daddy” and “firefighter” for the first time.

More reaction from pundits

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter, once an ardent Trump supporter, wrote on Twitter she thought the president’s speech was the “lamest, sappiest, most intentionally tear-jerking” State of the Union ever.

Former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, also a supporter of the president, said it was “probably the worst delivered speech” he’d heard from Trump.

“He ran over his lines, he didn’t deliver his punch lines, he would deliver a line and go to the next issue, and I don’t think he even realized he was moving on to the next issue,” Santorum said.

The Washington Post’s Philip Bump thought Trump’s line about “ridiculous partisan investigations” drew a parallel to comments made during the 1974 State of the Union delivered by then-President Richard Nixon.

“I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end,” Nixon said. “One year of Watergate is enough.”

Fox News political commentator Brit Hume was among the few pundits who praised Trump’s State of the Union, calling it a “striking speech” that was “the most effective use of the guests in the gallery that I have ever seen.”

Will Bunch reviews Trump’s second State of the Union

My colleague, columnist Will Bunch, wrote that Trump couldn’t make it 25 minutes into his speech on national unity and bipartisanship before tearing into immigrants in a lengthy rant that drew groans from Democrats.

“Trump’s delivery had been lethargic, punctuated by sniffs, before his lengthy rant on immigration, when suddenly the tension could almost be felt coming through the TV screen,” Bunch wrote.

Read Bunch’s entire column here.

Democratic response: ‘America is stronger with immigrants, not walls’

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams responded to Trump’s demand for a border wall with a conversational speech that called for a more compassionate approach to border security.

“We know bipartisanship could craft a 21st century immigration plan, but this administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart,” Abrams said. “Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders, but we must all embrace that from agriculture to health care — all embrace that from agriculture to health care, America is stronger with immigrants, not walls.”

Abrams touched on subjects ranging from climate change to health care during her speech, but focused a large portion on voting rights, citing the contested election in Georgia that she lost by less than 2 percentage points.

“Let’s be clear. Voter suppression is real. From making it harder to register and stay on the rolls to moving and closing polling places, to rejecting lawful ballots, we can no longer ignore these threats to democracy,” Abrams said. “We must reject the cynicism that says every vote cast to be counted is a power grab.”

Early reaction from pundits

As you'd expect, reviews of Trump's State of the Union were mixed, depending on who was offering the opinion.

"He spent more time on the wall than any other single issue tonight," ABC chief anchor George Stephanopoulos said following Trump’s speech.

"Despite the fact that 60 percent of Americans do not actually want this wall," ABC News senior White House correspondent Cecilia Vega added.

CNN host Van Jones called Trump’s State of the Union a “psychotically incoherent speech with cookies and dog poop.”

“He tried to put together in the same speech about these warm, kind thing about humanitarianism and caring about children. At the same time, he was demonizing people who are immigrants in a way that was appalling,” the host said.

Former NBC Today show host Megyn Kelly called it a “solid speech” with a “nice finish,” writing on Twitter that Trump won “just by being up there looking presidential, showing off his sense of humor.”

Trump gave a long speech

President Trump’s second State of the Union speech was among the longest in modern history, running one hour, 22 minutes. It ended up being two minutes longer than his 2018 State of the Union speech, which took one hour, 20 minutes.

Former President Bill Clinton holds the record for the longest State of the Union address. He spoke for one hour, 28 minutes during his 2000 speech, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Trump: ‘We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism’

The longest applause of Trump’s speech went to Timothy Matson, a Pittsburgh police officer who was shot seven times chasing down the gunman responsible for the death of 11 people during an attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in October.

“We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism, or those who spread its venomous creed,” Trump said. “With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.”

“Officer Matson: we are forever grateful for your courage in the face of evil,” Trump added.

The House chamber also broke out a bipartisan rendition of “Happy Birthday” to greet Pittsburgh shooting survivor Judah Samet, a Holocaust survivor who turned 81 today.

“They wouldn’t do that for me, Judah,” Trump joked.

Trump will hold two-day summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam

Trump announced during his State of the Union that he would hold a two-day summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, to take place Feb. 27-28.

“If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea,” Trump said, drawing jeers from Democrats in attendance.

“Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one,” Trump continued.

Fact checkers keeping busy with State of the Union

As soon as Trump began his second State of the Union speech, fact checkers began weighing in on the truthfulness of the president’s comments.

The New York Times called Trump’s claim that illegal border crossings were an “urgent national crisis” false, noting that illegal border crossings have been declining for two decades:

“Customs and Border Protection arrested more than 50,000 people trying to illegally cross the southwestern border each month in October, November and December. While that is an uptick from the monthly average in the fiscal year that ended in September 2017, the numbers pale in comparison to early 2000s, when border arrests averaged about 100,000 per month.”

Here are some other fact checks from FactCheck.org and Politifact:

Trump on border wall: ‘I will get it built’

Trump pledged to build his proposed border wall along the southern border despite strong opposition from Democrats who control the House.

“This is a smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier — not just a simple concrete wall,” Trump said. “Simply put, walls work and walls save lives. So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.”

Trump’s demands for $5.7 billion to fund the construction of a border wall led to a partial government shutdown that lasted a record 35 days. Trump suggested last week he could declare a national emergency in order to bypass Congress to secure the fund need for his wall, but that idea has drawn skepticism from many Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump booed when mentioning ‘caravans’

The president was greeted with boos when he shifted his speech from economic accomplishments to immigration, describing the situation at the border as a “urgent national crisis.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, standing behind the president, could be seen putting up her hand to halt the Democratic boos.

“As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States,” Trump said. “We have just heard that Mexican cities, in order to remove the illegal immigrants from their communities, are getting trucks and buses to bring them up to our country in areas where there is little border protection.”

Trump recognizes astronaut Buzz Aldrin

Trump praised astronaut Buzz Aldrin — the second man to walk on the moon — who was in attendance Tuesday night, for his accomplishments during the Apollo program.

"In 2019, we also celebrate 50 years since brave young pilots flew a quarter of a million miles through space to plant the American flag on the face of the moon. Half a century later, we are joined by one of the Apollo 11 astronauts who planted that flag, Buzz Aldrin," Trump said.

“This year, American astronauts will go back to space on American rockets,” Trump added.

Trump opens speech with call for bipartisanship

Trump opened his second State of the Union with a call for unity, calling on members of the new Democratic majority in the House to work with him to “govern not as two parties, but as one nation.”

“Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country,” Trump said. “We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good."

Trump’s call for unity and civility was immediately mocked by several media pundits and White House reporters.

Trump ripped Democrats, John McCain ahead of ‘unity’ speech

During a traditional pre-State of the Union sit down with news anchors, Trump ripped several Democrats, hours before delivering a speech expected to call for unity and bipartisanship, according to the New York Times.

“Biden was never very smart. He was a terrible student. His gaffes are unbelievable," Trump reportedly said of former Vice President Joe Biden. "When I say something that you might think is a gaffe, it’s on purpose; it’s not a gaffe. When Biden says something dumb, it’s because he’s dumb.”

Trump also once again chose to vent about former Republican Sen. John McCain, who cast the deciding “no” vote on Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“By the way, he wrote a book and the book bombed," Trump said of McCain, who died in August.

Meghan McCain, John McCain’s eldest daughter and a co-host on The View, called Trump’s comments “pathetic and telling.”

This year’s designated survivor is...

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has been chosen as the designated survivor during tonight’s State of the Union.

Every year, the administration taps a member of the line of succession — typically a cabinet member — who would become acting president in the event of a disaster. As this year’s designated survivor, Perry will be secured at a location away from the Capitol during the State of the Union.

Perry is 14th in the presidential line of succession, according to CNN.

Ginsburg, four other justices not expected to attend speech

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of five Supreme Court justices who aren’t expected to attend this year’s State of the Union address.

Ginsburg missed a round of oral arguments last month after undergoing a pulmonary lobectomy in December, but was spotted attending a production of “Notorious RBG in Song” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington on Monday night.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor are also not expected to attend the president’s speech tonight, according to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg.

Alito hasn’t attended a State of the Union since shaking his head in disagreement during President Obama’s 2010 address. Thomas has called the State of the Union a partisan event in the past.

Melania Trump doesn’t travel with the president — again

For the second-straight year, First Lady Melania Trump will buck a longstanding tradition and make the short trek to the Capitol in a separate motorcade from her husband, her spokeswoman told CNN.

"Mrs. Trump knows this is an important night, and wants to ensure the experience of her guests is special, and that they feel comfortable," said Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for communication.

Last year, the first lady’s decision not to travel to the Capitol with the president drew considerable media attention in part because, at the time, the couple had not been publicly seen together for nearly a month.

How long will Trump’s speech last?

Last year, Trump came within eight minutes of setting a new record for longest State of the Union with a speech that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. So far, we haven’t been given any official indication how long the president’s speech will last.

Trump has delivered two speeches to Congress during his tenure as president, with the average length coming in at 1 hour and 10 minutes. Using that measure, Trump’s address should end around 10:10 p.m.

Bernie Sanders taking heat for delivering his own rebuttal

Democrats have chosen former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to deliver their party’s official response to Trump’s speech. But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vt.) will also give a seperate response on Facebook Live following Abrams’ speech, a move that has upset many prominent Democrats, including his former press secretary, Symone Sanders.

“If Senator Sanders is somebody that’s thinking about throwing his name … in the ring for president, and he knows he has an issue with people saying that they don’t think he supports and uplifts the voices of black women, of people of color, do not step on Stacey Abrams,” Symone Sanders said on CNN Monday afternoon. “Do not give more fodder to the people that are already going to be critical of you in the first place.”

Sanders’ move to deliver his own rebuttal shouldn’t be surprising, considering he’s given a separate response every year since Trump became president. And despite running for president as a Democrat against Hillary Clinton, the Vermont senator isn’t actually a member of the party — he’s an independent who chooses to caucus with Democrats.

Some of the anger among Democrats was caused by an error by The Hill in its initial story, which incorrectly reported that Sanders would be delivering his response at the same time as Abrams’ speech (he’s delivering it after she finishes). The Hill has updated the story, but as Vox pointed out, the news outlet did not add a formal correction.