Free Republic

It was the worst night for Democrats since November 8, 2016. After President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, Rachel Maddow looked as though a loved one has just died – the same face she had on Election Night. Her fellow panelists, desperate for something to criticize, focused on the president using two hands to pick up a cup. *snip* The estimable Roger L. Simon explains the grim face and wonders if the Democratic Party died last night: The Democratic Party members watching that speech looked like a party of the living dead. They didn't know how to...

President Trump spent several moments during his address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday honoring the bravest among us: our soldiers. Upon the mention of our military, the entire room--Republican and Democrat--were on their feet. Well, almost everyone.Unbelievably, a handful of Democratic women who had dressed in white (for reasons hard to understand) to protest the president, remained seated at the mention of our soldiers. You would think supporting our military would be a bipartisan issue. Shortly after that, Trump recognized fallen Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, who died in a raid on an al Qaeda compound in Yemen in...

In his first presidential inaugural address, Obama referenced himself 84 times, (that number is an approximation). By contrast, Trump made only 53 such references in his address to congress Tuesday night.

Sometimes a speech is just a speech. And sometimes it heralds the prospect of a great national revival. Donald Trump gave the best speech of his short political life last night, and it had nothing to do with grand oratory. He was thoroughly presidential, speaking plainly and yet masterfully in projecting an optimistic vision of the America he aims to build. It is a vision so optimistic and encompassing that even steaming Democrats had to join boisterous Republicans in the applause at times. Anything you could possibly want, he served it up in a feast of ideas and promises. Trump...

The president opened by celebrating Black History Month. Lady Democrats wore white. Donald Trump delivered the most finely crafted speech of his political life Tuesday night in what will go down as one of the best speeches delivered to a joint session of Congress in the past two decades. He hit stirring emotional high notes. And he laid out his vision for his presidency. Mr. Trump stole the issue of affordable health care from Democrats. He unabashedly owned the fight against illegal immigration.

Let's roll.

“And they were all united by one very simple, but crucial demand, that America must put its own citizens first,” he continued. “Because only then can we truly make America great again.” Republicans immediately stood and cheered Trump’s call, but Democrats offered little to no visual support for what some would characterize as a call for elected leaders to do their most fundamental duty — look out for the interests of their constituents.

CNN's Van Jones is a frequent Trump critic if there ever was one. But after the president's speech to the nation on Tuesday night, Jones got emotional and was clearly impressed by Trump's handling of one particular part of the speech. Jones said Trump's tribute to Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, who died in a raid in Yemen, was “one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period” and that it was the moment Trump “became president of the United States.” He also said it's the kind of thing that could make Trump a two-term president....

Tomorrow night, President Trump is going to give the most important speech that he's had the opportunity to present so far in the 45 days since he became president. Dennis Michael Lynch [DML] has some excellent advice for the president that I hope he takes so the important narrative of what he wants and needs to do to Make America Great Again doesn't get lost in the tall weeds of "fake news", the election results ["I won"] or them vs us.

The invite list by Democrat members of Congress reads like yet another staged protest like so many in recent years that resulted in costly mayhem and damage. This time, though, it won’t be a protest on city streets, but rather within the halls of Congress itself as President Donald Trump takes center stage to lay out his year one agenda for the nation to the legislators responsible for turning that agenda into law. Both Democrats and the Establishment Media see it as yet another opportunity to try and challenge and embarrass the president. The anti-president mood will be unprecedented. Remarkable...

Although President Donald Trump won’t be giving a formal State of the Union address Tuesday night (he’s only been in office a month), Democrats are still planning on making his address to a joint session of Congress as uncomfortable as possible. Each legislator is allowed a handful of tickets for the public gallery, so that interested constituents and guests can be present for what is typically the President’s most important speech of the year. Most often, those tickets go to hometown heroes from the legislator’s respective districts, people who have made the news over the past year, or those who have...

Lawmakers are inviting 'Dreamers,' Muslim-Americans and others to his joint address before Congress on Tuesday. House Democrats are seizing on President Donald Trump’s first major speech to Congress Tuesday as an opportunity to troll the new president in prime time. Many of the same Democrats who boycotted Trump’s inauguration are choosing not to skip his first address to Congress as president, instead opting to bring guests directly affected by the administration’s controversial policies on immigration and refugees and Republican attempts to repeal Obamacare. “It’s my hope that gallery is going to look like America,” said Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), who...

In just two days, President Donald J. Trump will deliver his highly anticipated first Address to a Joint Session of Congress. There is an incredible spirit of optimism sweeping across the Nation, and in preparation for this address, the President has hosted numerous listening sessions at the White House. During these meetings he has heard from men and women from all over the country about issues that are impacting American families, communities, and workers. Now is your chance to give your input. We want to know what issues you want President Trump to focus on and your ideas for the...

In advance of President Trump’s first State of the Union speech, random busybodies are urging him to tone it down. One adviser from the bleachers suggests he be “humble and inclusive.” Sweet, but I’m betting humble pie is not on the president’s menu. On the contrary, Tuesday night in the Capitol is likely to be a shock-and-awe blowout of pure Trumpism. The idea that Trump must go mild has been a staple of the punditocracy since he announced his candidacy. That it still holds such a prominent place in his second month in the Oval Office reveals what slow learners...

Bill Clinton 1995 State of the Union immigration comments

One of the "few regrets" of his presidency, President Obama said dolefully in his State of the Union speech, was "that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better." Were he endowed with "the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt," he remarked, he could have done more to bridge the partisan divide. But he pledged to "keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office." Did you experience a touch of deja vu when the president said that? Four years ago, when he was in the home stretch of his first term and running...

SPECIAL GUEST: LUDOVIC LOPEZ!!! 8 AM EST THIS SATURDAY (1/16) MORNING Ludovic Lopez is the president of the European Democratic Movement, an organization made up of European political movements looking to protect Europe from the mistakes of their major parties. With a presence in Spain, Poland, and France, they seek to protect the general interests of the west. Topics to be addressed: -Iran captures and humiliates U.S. Navy sailors -The State of the Union - was Obama talking about another planet? -The Republican Debate - the gloves come off, finally -Europe's Islamic problem and rape crisis -The biggest political challenges...

The House's highest-ranking Republican woman said Thursday South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley should be judged on her abilities, not her looks, dismissing a remark by fellow Republican Rep. Steve King. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is fourth in leadership as the chair of the Republican Conference, was asked about King's comment to The Associated Press that Haley wasn't a "principled conservative" in the GOP, but "I think she's beautiful so I'd be happy if she's the face of the party." [...] "Nikki Haley is a proven leader. And that is what she should be judged on," the Washington state Republican...

On Tuesday night President Obama delivered the yearly State of the Union address to the nation. This is an event where the President speaks to how well the nation is doing under his management. It is also an event in which the opposition party stages politically motivated gestures to gain some much needed publicity and the Washington D.C. pundit class spends hours analyzing it all. The “opposition” party this year was the Republican Party. This year the Republican Establishment chose the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, to deliver their response to the President Obama’s State of the Union (S.O.T.U.)...

U.S. President Barack Obama delivered his final "State of the Union" address Tuesday night, offering a vigorous defense of his years in office and calling on politicians and the American public to overcome partisanship and fear. [...] According to a transcript of the speech, he didn't mention the word "Europe" once in the 58-minute address. ...