Tag: State of the Union

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Trump’s State Of The Union Address Draws Millions Fewer Viewers Than Obama

Now, we all know how Donald Trump loves good TV ratings.

“The most! The best! The bestest!”

With that in mind, I’m betting the Trumpster won’t be pleased to know that his first SOTU address pulled in fewer viewers by the millions than Barack Obama’s first SOTU.

Via Variety:

Viewership of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address is down slightly in the Nielsen ratings compared to his first televised address to Congress last February as well as President Barack Obama’s first such address.

On broadcast, Tuesday’s coverage of the speech drew 7.1 million viewers on NBC, 7 million on CBS, 5.4 million on ABC, and 3.6 million on Fox for a combined 23.1 million viewers.

On cable, Fox News led by a wide margin with 11.5 million viewers tuning into the network’s coverage of the speech. CNN was second with 3.1 million, with MSNBC drawing 2.7 million. That means that President Trump’s address drew 40.4 million viewers across broadcast and cable

Obama’s first State of the Union in 2010 drew 48 million viewers across broadcast and cable, while his first address before a joint session of Congress in February 2009 drew 52.4 million viewers. That means that Trump trailed Obama’s first State of the Union by approximately 16 percent in total viewers.

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Thoughts On Trump’s 1st State Of The Union Speech

Last night, President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint sessions of Congress.

Random thoughts:

• It was long – the longest since Bill Clinton’s 2000 address.

• For the most part, Trump stayed on script which is about the best thing that can be said.

• No new policies were introduced during the speech.

• It was odd to watch Trump himself clap during each pause. Or, considering it’s Trump – not so odd.

• The Trumpster only spent 49 seconds on the opioid epidemic that’s killing 64,000 people a year in America.

• Teleprompter Trump is better than unfiltered Trump.

• It’s notable that as he stepped up to the mic, Trump’s approval rating – 37% – is the lowest of any modern president as he enters his second year.

• Lots of inaccuracies throughout the address. Non-partisan, Pulitzer Prize-winning site Politifact did fact checking along the way.

Just some of what they found.

“Just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history.”

It is False that the tax-cut package passed in December is the largest cut ever, as Trump has repeatedly claimed.

In inflation-adjusted dollars, the recent tax bill is the fourth-largest since 1940. And as a percentage of GDP, it ranks seventh.

“The third pillar ends the visa lottery — a program that randomly hands out green cards without any regard for skill, merit, or the safety of American people.”

We rated Trump’s claim False. While lottery applicants are randomly selected, they must meet education and work experience requirements. They must also be vetted by the United States government before being allowed to come to the United States.

“African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.”

The black unemployment rate is indeed at record lows, and the Hispanic unemployment rate reached the lowest levels in history during Trump’s tenure.

That’s a continuation of an earlier trend. Under former President Barack Obama, the unemployment rate for both groups fell by more than half.

Much more over at Politifact.

For more in-depth coverage of the speech, head over to The New York Times‘ recap here.

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State Of The Union: How Much Actually Gets Done?

Interesting graph via NPR regarding how many of the items listed in past State of the Union addresses actually get marked done as “Successful” or “Partially Successful.”

You’ll notice  President Obama’s three Democratic predecessors achieved the greatest percentage of their SOTU requests compared to the Republican presidents.

It’s a wonder Obama actually got even 31% done when you consider then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the Repubs first priority was making him a one-term president.

They didn’t even achieve that.

Click the image above to enlarge.

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The Congressman Who Invited Kim Davis To State Of The Union Didn’t Know He Invited Her

Well, this is awkward.

It was announced last week that anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis would be attending the State of the Union address tonight. These appearances are usually via invitation by a member of Congress.

So, folks were wondering: who invited the infamous county clerk?

Today we find out it is GOP Congressman Jim Jordan from Ohio.

Actually, HE found out today himself.

From Huffington Post:

“I didn’t invite anyone,” Jordan initially said late Tuesday afternoon, as he was jogging to House votes. When pressed on whether he had given his ticket to the Family Research Council, which then gave it to Davis — which is what a Democratic aide told HuffPost had happened — Jordan said he would have to confirm with his office. “I don’t know,” he said.

“My understanding is they gave them to the Family Research Council,” Jordan said, promising to call his staff and get back in touch.

Jordan was later spotted in the Capitol basement, on the phone with his communications director, confirming what had happened.

“Yeah, so we gave a ticket to — at the request of the Family Research Council — we gave the ticket to Kim Davis’ family,” he said.

Jordan said he was fine with his ticket going to Davis, who has been lionized by many conservatives and chastised by many liberals for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and that the secrecy wasn’t intentional.

“I found out today,” Jordan said. “And I’m being totally honest with you: That’s — Family Research Council asked us, her family wanted a ticket, and we said ‘OK.'”

So Kim Davis’ family made the request? For someone who says she doesn’t like attention, she’s sure going to great lengths to get even more.

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NOM President Brian Brown Is “Outraged” Over Jim Obergefell’s Invite To State Of The Union Address

Virulently anti-gay Brian Brown, president of the ironically named National Organization for Marriage, is super-mad y’all.

Brown is upset (and begging for money) because Jim Obergefell will be sitting with the First Lady at tonight’s State of the Union address.

As you probably know, Obergefell was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to the historic marriage equality decision by SCOTUS last summer.

Via press release:

“It’s an outrage that President Obama is honoring the extermination of true marriage in our nation’s laws as a result of an anti-constitutional, illegitimate ruling of the US Supreme Court,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president.

“President Obama is trying to honor something that is completely dishonorable because it strips from the law the truth of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and substitutes a fiction from the left that marriage can be anything you want it to be.”

I wasn’t aware that heterosexual marriage is now “exterminated?”

Of course, what he’s really mad about is his six-figure annual salary is about to go bye-bye.

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This Photo Is Driving The Tea People Insane

JoeMyGod points out Obama’s “zero fucks to give” expression is driving the far-right idiots out of their minds.

The image was tweeted out from the @barackobama account with the comment, “Suit up—it’s President Obama’s final State of the Union. Say you’ll tune in: http://ofa.bo/s9ZA”

I personally love how Obama has let go of trying to be reasonable with the Teabaggers. He spent way too much time early in his administration attempting to meet them halfway.

Click here for just a sample of the insanity the image has inspired 🙂