President Trump’s first State of the Union address got off to a bit of a rocky start when the official tickets given to guests from the House had the word ‘uniom’ instead of ‘union’ on them. This speech was highly anticipated, given that it usually lays out the President’s plans and anticipated policy for the coming year. President Trump’s particular speech seemed to lack actual policy plans. He spent a large amount of time talking about the guests he had invited to the event; including war heroes, a man who used to live in North Korea and more. This was, in fact, one of the longest State of the Unions ever recorded; coming in at a time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. This lengthy speech consisted of vows to stop terrorism, lots of ‘America First’ rhetoric and several praises of what his administration has accomplished so far. As far as actual plans for the future, the President talked about keeping Guantanamo Bay open and the idea of getting rid of nuclear weapons (while keeping them at the same time). People on both sides of the political spectrum acknowledged the fact that, for the most part, President Trump kept his composure and stayed on task throughout the speech. Left-leaning politicians and commentators noted the fact that this particular speech seemed to lack substance and did not provide the information that State of the Union speeches normally give. While on the right, many felt that this style was more comprehensible to the American public. By not using specific and confusing policy terms, more “regular” people were able to understand it. It overall had a relatively positive feeling to it. The speech did indeed receive criticism and praise alike, but the outcome did not seem to shock anyone.
PeopleDemocrats, however, seemed to be more eager to watch the Democratic response of, given by Joe Kennedy III, athe young Representative from Massachusetts., Joe Kennedy III. Kennedy is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and the great-nephew of John F. Kennedy. Needless to say, his name already holds a level of power and familiarity that can be comforting to hear during a time of such political confusion. The pressure was on for the response; many have gone bad and added nothing to the conversation of the night. Nonetheless, that was not the case with Kennedy. Democrats thoroughly enjoyed everything from the substance to the location of the response. The speech was held at a vocational technical high school; likely to appeal to blue-collar voters. Kennedy stressed the strength of the American people, saying that they can get through anything. His most popular portion of the speech was when he brought up how Republicans seem to be making the public choose between things like children and immigrants, or health care and lower taxes. After listing off several of these polarizing topics, he continued to talk about how he, and the rest of the Democratic party, would “choose both.” His speech was straight-forward, compelling, opinionated, but not too radical, and just enough for most to agree that the speech was a success.
Both speeches made for an interesting night in American politics. Opinions were shared unapologetically, accomplishments were highlighted and the future was emphasized. Both parties indicated their plans for the country. It is safe to say that those on both side of the political spectrum have something to look forward to in the future.