Sore loser Nancy Pelosi has disgraced herself. Like an enraged toddler, the House speaker rewarded President Trump’s moving and aspirational State of the Union speech by dramatically tearing it to shreds, intentionally insulting not only the president but the many American heroes whose uplifting stories were woven into the fabric of his address.
Her sullen and disrespectful behavior during and after Trump’s speech slighted the veterans who risk their lives for us, the parents whose children have been murdered by Islamic terrorists, Juan Guaido, whom Trump named the “legitimate president of Venezuela,” the 100-year old Tuskegee airman whose grandson wants to grow up and become an astronaut, and Tony Rankins, a homeless veteran who found work and purpose through one of the administration’s Opportunity Zones.
Pelosi and her fellow Democrats could not bring themselves to applaud the record-low unemployment for minorities, rising wages and record-high consumer sentiment being delivered by the Trump economy. They refused to cheer for the revival of manufacturing and for the trade agreements that have pushed to protect America’s interests.
Of course, they could not celebrate his disdain for the dangers posed by sanctuary cities or Trump’s call to withhold free health care from people in the country illegally. Open borders has become a solid plank in the Democratic platform, no matter the cost.
Pelosi et al certainly would not applaud Trump’s enthusiasm for school choice and ambition to turn around our failing inner-city schools. They owe too much to the teachers unions, whose ranks cough up tens of millions of dollars for Democrats in every election cycle.
And they surely could not sign onto Trump’s vow to protect the health insurance of 180 million Americans from Democratic candidates pushing for single-payer health care.
But could they not rise to their feet to salute American greatness? Apparently not.
Democrats, led by Pelosi, just hate that President Donald Trump has a great story to tell, and that he told it brilliantly. More than that, they hate that millions of Americans were watching.
Who can blame Madame Speaker? She went to the barricades against Trump, and she lost. Her ill-considered decision to impeach the president has severely wounded her party, and eventually Democrats will decide that her leadership has cost them everything.
After all she has thrown at Trump, he is the one with record-high approval ratings and high marks from voters for our economic success. At the same time, Gallup tells us approval of the Republican Party has increased ten points since the impeachment inquiry in the House began, to the highest level since 2005.
No wonder she threw a hissy fit.
Trump’s third State of the Union speech highlighted the robust economy, which has created seven million new jobs under his stewardship, provided record median incomes, driven down poverty and expanded opportunity to all Americans, and especially those at the lowest ranks of the income spectrum. It is his greatest selling point as he kicks off his reelection campaign, and sell it he did.
The president also reminded voters of other big wins: The new China trade deal, the updated USMCA, legislation guaranteeing paid family leave, criminal justice reform, expanded efforts to combat human trafficking and so much more.
For conservatives, the president boasted of confirming 187 federal judges, strengthening our southern border, rebuilding the military and defeating ISIS.
The record is astonishing considering the endless investigations and the obstruction from Congress, the dead-end impeachment fiasco and, perhaps most damaging, the endless undermining of his every initiative by a left-wing media.
The State of the Union address presents all presidents a rare and unfiltered opportunity to tout their accomplishments. But in the case of President Trump, this event is critical, and his opponents know it.
The media’s constant attacks on the president’s credibility have taken a toll. A conservative friend emailed me recently, saying this:
“What I find most amazing is the absolute hypnotic state that many live in which is due entirely to the media. My parents are older and are a perfect example. They watch CNN and MSNBC all day and are convinced that all the incredible statistics that Trump is responsible for are all fake or exaggerated. It is scary that 90% of the news flow has been reduced to propaganda.”
He’s right; it is scary. Thank heavens that the president landed on social media early on as a way to evade the truth-benders in the liberal media. Trump has 72 million Twitter followers and a gazillion “friends” on Facebook, making the New York Times an apostrophe to his stream of communications with supporters and deniers alike.
That makes Democrats crazy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is so angry that she wants Facebook, Twitter et al to get in the censorship game by taking down ”disinformation.” She can’t stand that Trump can speak to the nation directly, without the spin so reliably provided by CNN or MSNBC. We can imagine what would constitute “disinformation” for Warren.
Warren and other Democrats want to control what Americans hear. They want voters to doubt their own common sense, doubt the rising paycheck in their pocket, the better jobs being offered and the lower taxes due on April 15. They hope to convince them that they are not better off than they were four years ago.
Most of all, they hope to win back the White House in November. Given the achievements Trump reeled off in his State of the Union speech, and his many wins on behalf of America’s families and workers, Democrats don’t have a chance.
Liz Peek is a former partner of major bracket Wall Street firm Wertheim & Company. Follow her on Twitter @lizpeek.