Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders (R ) called for a new generation of Republican leadership in her response to President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left,” Sanders said from the governor’s mansion in Little Rock. “The choice is between normal or crazy. It’s time for a new generation of Republican leadership.”
Sanders was a White House spokesperson for former President Trump, who is seeking another term as president. He is the only Republican candidate in the 2024 race at this time.
A number of Republicans have suggested it is time to turn the page on the Trump era, and the Sanders remark could be read as a shot at Trump.
But Sanders also went on to praise the former president, recalling traveling with him when he visited troops in Iraq during a Christmas in his administration.
Sanders spent most of her address hitting Biden over his address, attacking him over inflation, the flow of migrants over the southern border, foreign policy, and cultural issues.
“In the Radical Left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire,” Sanders said. “But you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race.”
Sanders took a personal tone during parts of the speech, particularly when she recounted her and her mothers’ own experiences battling cancer.
“Faith propels us to charge boldly ahead,” she said.
The governor is considered a new generation of leadership in the GOP herself, being the first woman to serve as Arkansas governor and the youngest governor in the nation.
Republicans were quick to praise Sanders following her address, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who tweeted a photo of him watching the rebuttal.
“The contrast between her speech and Biden’s couldn’t be more clear,” McCarthy tweeted. “Republicans offer a vision for a future built on freedom, not fear-mongering.”