Vox - State of the Union 2020: President Trump gives annual address to Congresshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2020-02-05T14:30:00-05:00http://www.vox.com/rss/stream/208807452020-02-05T14:30:00-05:002020-02-05T14:30:00-05:00Trump’s State of the Union suggests he’s worried about Bernie Sanders
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<figcaption>Sen. Bernie Sanders supporters at a New Hampshire rally. | Preston Ehrler/Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Responses to the State of the Union showed the Democratic Party is divided. Trump is targeting the left wing.</p> <p id="seovw5">Michigan <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123581/gretchen-whitmer-state-of-the-union-response-text">Gov. Gretchen Whitmer</a> and Vermont <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123581/gretchen-whitmer-state-of-the-union-response-text">Sen. Bernie Sanders</a> gave speeches on Tuesday night responding to President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers">State of the Union address</a>, with Whitmer providing a moderate’s vision for the Democratic Party and Sanders making the case for reviving America through left-wing policies.</p>
<p id="1u1Edq">While Whitmer was the one giving the official Democratic Party response to Trump’s remarks, it was actually Sanders’s speech that seemed to be most directly in conversation with the president’s address. This was something Trump seemed to anticipate, with his remarks full of strident warnings of a socialist takeover of America. </p>
<p id="nlddTi">Those warnings — and the ways in which the speeches seemed to clash — served as a potential preview of a 2020 general campaign season in which left-wing populism emerges as the chief challenge to Trump’s right-wing populism. </p>
<p id="hoA02M">It is far from clear who the Democratic presidential nominee will be. But the fact that the addresses came just one night after <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123008/iowa-caucus-live-results-2020">the Iowa caucuses kicked off</a>, with indications that Sanders — and the progressive politics he represents — could be a dominant force in the Democratic primary, certainly brings that potential dynamic into focus.</p>
<p id="XYM1oD">And this makes Whitmer’s and Sanders’s speeches neat encapsulations of the choices Democratic voters face in the primary. </p>
<p id="69mrDD">Whitmer, who won the governor’s mansion in 2018, delivered her remarks with an affable Midwestern folksiness. She focused on explaining how the Democrats have a party brimming with practical policy solutions to problems like health care premiums and decaying infrastructure that can be implemented incrementally.</p>
<p id="C0A2vO">She also called for unity across the two parties — and for Republicans to set aside partisanship for Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate. </p>
<p id="Y602uz">Sanders, by contrast, had nothing conciliatory to offer. </p>
<p id="wvCXdK">Instead, he spoke with fiery passion about class war between the 1 percent and everybody else. He demanded Medicare-for-all, complete cancellation of student debt, and widespread mobilization in the face of accelerating climate change. He did not appeal to Republicans’ better angels or for bipartisan consensus, and he repeatedly called Trump a liar.</p>
<p id="Uqydz4">In a pivotal election year like this one, Whitmer’s and Sanders’s speeches didn’t just illustrate divergent visions within the Democratic Party about what America should look like. They also served as distinct roadmaps for how the party establishment and the insurgent left wing of the party are inclined to oust Trump from office. </p>
<p id="RPeJb7">And voters will soon have to decide which of these visions they want their party to embrace: the “political revolution” Sanders promised, or the progressive but more incremental vision Whitmer outlined that is embraced by candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden or former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.</p>
<p id="bEE3be">Trump’s State of the Union speech, which focused most emphatically on the outward strength of the economy, seemed to indicate that he believes the Sanders approach could very well win out, even if the candidate himself does not. </p>
<p id="nCoUHL">That’s in part because the positions that Sanders advocates for have spread beyond him in mainstream politics, something illustrated by <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/02/05/working-families-party-sotu-response-ayanna-pressley">Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s response to Trump’s State of the Union</a> on Tuesday night, which she delivered on behalf of the progressive Working Families Party. In that speech, the first-term Congress member spoke forcefully about how Trump has enacted “short-sighted policies that work for the wealthy and powerful few but leave the worker and the immigrant behind.”</p>
<p id="l0sfyj">Strikingly, Trump made sure to bash socialism several times in his speech. He linked it to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123557/state-of-the-union-2020-trump-socialism-venezuela-guaido">Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis</a>, and he warned that the sort of government-backed health care Sanders advocates for would be catastrophic and only a boon for unauthorized immigrants. He also went out of his way to mention his update to NAFTA as supported by organized labor — a section of the electorate <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/21/20826661/bernie-sanders-union-plan-labor-worker-rights-2020">Sanders has courted</a> — and described his own policies as “pro-worker.” And he didn’t mention impeachment. </p>
<p id="pH9Hvc">None of this means that Sanders will win the nomination, or even that Trump thinks he’s harder to beat than a moderate. But it does suggest that the right feels a serious need to fight the ideas that Sanders has made a matter of sustained public debate.</p>
<h3 id="3aWfpP">Whitmer’s and Sanders’s speeches showcased two Democratic futures</h3>
<p id="0c4ToN">Whitmer’s speech and Sanders’s were a study in contrasts. </p>
<p id="qxAVg9">Whitmer delivered her remarks calmly before a quiet audience in the heart of Michigan, a Rust Belt state that Trump narrowly won in 2016 and that was crucial to Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton. Whitmer championed her gubernatorial campaign slogan in Michigan — “fix the damn roads” — and used infrastructure investment as a guiding metaphor for practicality and the possibility of bipartisan unity. “All across the country, Democratic leaders are rebuilding bridges,” she said.</p>
<p id="OIdwLm">In addition to discussing Democrats’ infrastructure efforts across the nation, Whitmer focused heavily on health care. She spoke about her experience as a state senator working with Republican lawmakers to expand health care in Michigan under the Affordable Care Act. But she warned against the GOP’s efforts to dismantle the policy and its protections for people with preexisting conditions. “It’s pretty simple. Democrats are trying to make your health care better; Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away,” she said.</p>
<p id="2sldv8">In short, Whitmer’s earnest celebration of establishment Democrats’ can-do spirit and focus on practical fixes was a summary of a possible Democratic pitch to the average moderate swing voter in a battleground state. </p>
<p id="FqEL2n">Sanders’s remarks were also — quite literally — a pitch to voters. But his angle couldn’t have been more different. </p>
<p id="NMyMxP">Sanders delivered his speech from Manchester, New Hampshire, before a crowd of rowdy supporters. New Hampshire holds its <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21076261/new-hampshire-primary-february-11">Democratic primary next Tuesday</a>, and given that it’s the first nominating contest that Sanders won in the New Hampshire 2016 primary against Clinton, the state represents a particularly strong base for him. </p>
<p id="v5CgRl">The Vermont senator’s speech kicked off with a cocky crowd-pleaser: “I just listened to Donald Trump’s third, and what I believe to be his very last, State of the Union address.” Sanders then delved into how the economy is “booming” for “Trump and his billionaire friends,” but not for “anybody else.”</p>
<p id="pC0gxT">While Whitmer focused on how the economy could be improved for working Americans through policies like minimum wage increases, Sanders painted a bleaker picture of plutocracy. “The wealthiest people in our country have never ever had it so good, and we are now experiencing more income and wealth inequality than any time in the last 100 years,” he said. </p>
<p id="0SZgzw">And while Whitmer’s speech focused on bread-and-butter issues like improving roads and ensuring clean water, Sanders focused on sweeping, transformative policies like canceling student debt and implementing Medicare-for-all. Whitmer presented solutions as commonsense and technical, while Sanders articulated the conviction that “the American people want a government that is based on the principles of justice and compassion.”</p>
<p id="0wVqgi">Unlike Whitmer, Sanders bluntly discussed Trump’s trade policies and criticized them for doing nothing to prevent corporations from sending jobs overseas. He promised to make efforts to end this practice.</p>
<p id="HWWfEl">In his tone, Sanders alternated between rage at the status quo and snarky skepticism of proposed solutions. When discussing Trump’s State of the Union pledge to protect health coverage of Americans with preexisting conditions, Sanders bellowed, “Really?<em> </em>How gullible do you think the American people are?” </p>
<p id="rC0dSj">As Sanders repeatedly declared Trump a liar, it became clear that he felt the prospect of good-faith negotiation with the GOP was low. Instead, he pushed for the idea of<strong> </strong>leading a racially diverse mobilization to wrest control of the government from the hands of corporate interests.</p>
<p id="gRrJc8">Like so many of his speeches, Sanders’s address was aimed at progressives and those disenchanted with how the system works. It’s important to note that latter camp, some analysts believe, could include some Trump supporters in battleground states.</p>
<h3 id="kqGiOT">Trump’s speech suggests that he takes Sanders seriously</h3>
<p id="CDiLVq">Trump’s State of the Union address covered a lot of ground. He boasted about low unemployment, he <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123597/rush-limbaugh-medal-of-freedom-trump-racist-sexist">awarded right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom</a>, and he shared grisly stories of crimes allegedly committed by unauthorized immigrants.</p>
<p id="ff3fBr">What was interesting about Trump’s references to his opponents was that he didn’t mention impeachment or the debacle in the Iowa caucus, nor did he take notable strikes at the Democratic Party establishment. Instead, a lot of his criticisms about his political challengers focused on the idea of the rise of an extremist left.</p>
<p id="8RZL3n">For example, Trump invited Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó in a gesture of solidarity with him against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — and as a stand against socialism in the Americas. “The United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro,” Trump said. </p>
<p id="Gr9GnX">That point is somewhat undercut by the fact that Guaidó <a href="https://twitter.com/dylanmatt/status/1224883857767510017">would probably</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123557/state-of-the-union-2020-trump-socialism-venezuela-guaido">be considered </a>a socialist by US standards, but Trump didn’t let that stop him, going on to say, “Socialism destroys nations. But always remember: Freedom unifies the soul.”</p>
<p id="tEOJam">Trump also warned against Medicare-for-all as a socialist nightmare that would take away health care from Americans.</p>
<p id="fOjpQ1">“One hundred thirty-two lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our health care system, wiping out the private health insurance plans of 180 million Americans,” Trump said. “To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: We will never let socialism destroy American health care!”</p>
<p id="Vxl1Hv">Trump also tied Medicare-for-all and socialism to immigration anxieties among his base. He said Medicare-for-all would subsidize free health care for unauthorized immigrants and act as a lure for more of them to enter the country. </p>
<p id="ajgyWW">“If forcing American taxpayers to provide unlimited free health care to illegal aliens sounds fair to you, then stand with the radical left,” Trump declared. “But if you believe that we should defend American patients and American seniors, then stand with me and pass legislation to prohibit free government health care for illegal aliens.”</p>
<p id="pNJOkB">In addition to constantly trying to revive the stigma around the s-word (socialism), Trump presented himself as friendly to organized labor. Labor is a key part of the Democratic base and an essential constituency for Sanders’s bid for the Democratic nomination. He described his updated version of NAFTA as “the first trade deal in many years that earned the support of labor unions.”</p>
<p id="d4RF2X">All this would seem preparation to face a Democratic rival who looks more like Bernie Sanders and less like Joe Biden.</p>
<h3 id="bZ8LpF">Sanders versus Trump?</h3>
<p id="B8rWTa">This doesn’t mean Trump thinks Sanders is a more formidable opponent than, say, Biden in a general election. And it could be argued that he’s experimenting with the strategy of painting the entire Democratic Party as the party of Sanders precisely because he thinks that policies like Medicare-for-all are good flashpoints. </p>
<p id="TXDekl">Overall, it makes sense as a strategy to use against a party that is becoming increasingly liberal even without Sanders in it. Pressley’s speech, for example, called for ordinary citizens to organize en masse to help bring to fruition a democratic socialist wish list of policies, including a Green New Deal and Medicare-for-all.</p>
<p id="jmKxQO">But it is worth noting the symmetry between Sanders’s and Trump’s speeches, and the possibility that Trump takes the socialist threat as dangerous per se. While Whitmer focused on practical solutions, Sanders and Trump both spoke in sweeping, ideological language. While Whitmer longed for bipartisan unity and viewed it as a possibility, Sanders and Trump both have antagonistic, us-versus-them worldviews. While Whitmer seemed sanguine about fixing America, both Sanders and Trump see the world today as harsh and unfair and in need of transformative change.</p>
<p id="nIyLKC">Should Sanders fail to take off in the primaries, perhaps this will all fade. But if his surge continues, this could be a sign of what’s to come: a clash of populisms, from the left and from the right.</p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/5/21123472/trump-speech-state-union-response-sanders-whitmerZeeshan Aleem2020-02-05T13:03:22-05:002020-02-05T13:03:22-05:003 Democrats walked out of Trump’s State of the Union in protest
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<figcaption>Rep. Rashida Tlaib speaks to the press after President Trump’s State of the Union address. | Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Another 10, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, stayed home. </p> <p id="zz5PG8">For some Democratic members of Congress, President Trump’s annual State of the Union address Tuesday night was a bridge too far. Over the course of the speech, at least three lawmakers walked out in protest, and many others who remained on the House floor were <a href="https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1224889135908958209?s=20">vocal</a> about their <a href="https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/1224888126507753473">displeasure</a>.</p>
<p id="n6TVgk">Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) all left as Trump gave his address, which <a href="https://twitter.com/RashidaTlaib/status/1224897653328269316?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">Tlaib described on Twitter</a> as shameful and “beneath the dignity of the office.”</p>
<p id="Q02JOu"><a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123521/skip-state-of-the-union-aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez">At least 10 House Democrats</a> chose to boycott the speech outright, including high-profile freshmen Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley. <a href="https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1224792604094627843">Pressley described the event on Twitter</a> as a “sham,” a sentiment later echoed by Ryan, who tweeted that the president’s speech was “all fake.”</p>
<p id="svcx9V">“It’s like watching professional wrestling,” <a href="https://twitter.com/RepTimRyan/status/1224889867798224896">Ryan said</a>.</p>
<p id="wBBdFL">Trump’s speech <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers">dwelt extensively</a> on many of his favorite, expected topics, including the US Space Force, the economy, and the recently signed USMCA trade deal. However, he also strayed into disturbing anti-immigrant rhetoric, and interrupted his speech to honor <a href="https://www.vox.com/">conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh</a>, who frequently employs racist and sexist talking points.</p>
<p id="herjrF">Other Democrats, who stayed for the duration of the speech, were no more complimentary than their counterparts who walked out. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) said the speech was “full of lies,” but <a href="https://twitter.com/chelliepingree/status/1224896864564191232?s=209">joked on Twitter</a> that she had to stay because she promised her colleagues a ride home afterward.</p>
<p id="WRICRu">Fact-checking <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/politics/fact-checker-guide-state-of-the-union/index.html">by CNN</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/04/fact-checking-president-trumps-2020-state-union-address/">the Washington Post</a> bear Pingree’s statement out: According to the Post, the president’s speech included at least 31 false, distorted, or otherwise dubious claims.</p>
<p id="CNg7Nh">Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1224900741992787969">expressed regret for even attending</a>: “I should not have gone,” he tweeted. “I get it — presidents use their last SOTU to make the case for re-election. But that crossed a line.”</p>
<p id="FSBWRy">In years past, House Republicans registered their discontent with President Barack Obama when he spoke before Congress. In 2009, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/09/joe.wilson/">South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “you lie”</a> in a special joint session. In 2014, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steve-stockman-state-of-the-union_n_4684597">now-former Rep. Steve Stockman walked out</a> during the State of the Union address.</p>
<p id="zT8T9W">Ryan, a one-time 2020 presidential contender, later expanded on his tweet in a statement <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1224898528545320960">shared by reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere of the Atlantic on Twitter</a>. “Tonight’s address clarified one thing,” Ryan said. “This President has no strategy for the future.”</p>
<p id="jOMFCq">Ryan also excoriated the president’s economic boasting, saying that “manufacturing jobs continue to be shipped overseas,” and highlighted the prohibitively high cost of the American health care system, which, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123495/biggest-lie-trump-state-of-the-union-2020-preexisting-conditions">as Vox’s Ian Millhiser argues</a>, was the subject of perhaps the president’s “biggest lie” over the course of a sprawling, showmanship-laden address well over an hour in duration.</p>
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<p id="hKdLCV"><strong>Correction: </strong>This article originally misquoted Rep. Ayanna Pressley as describing President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as a “scam.” Pressley referred to the speech as a “sham” <a href="https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1224792604094627843">on Twitter</a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123942/democrats-walked-out-trump-state-of-the-union-protestCameron Peters2020-02-05T12:30:00-05:002020-02-05T12:30:00-05:00Trump’s criminal justice record is more complicated than he claims
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<figcaption>President Trump delivers the State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. | Mario Tama/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Although the First Step Act has its achievements, the Department of Justice has been slowing down the process. </p> <p id="s17Qmi">President Trump didn’t miss the opportunity to portray himself as a champion of criminal justice reform during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday. But a fuller look at his record is more complicated. </p>
<p id="RkGc3M">“Our roaring economy has, for the first time ever, given many former prisoners the ability to get a great job and a fresh start. This second chance at life is made possible because we passed landmark criminal justice reform into law. Everybody said that criminal justice reform could not be done, but I got it done, and the people in this room got it done,” he said. </p>
<p id="GUbYOM">To be fair, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/3/18122392/first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform-bill-congress">First Step Act</a>, Trump’s landmark criminal justice law, is commendable. More than 3,000 people have been released thanks to the law’s effort to take good behavior while incarcerated into account. And by retroactively applying the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine charges, over 2,000 people received sentencing reductions — 91 percent of them were African Americans, according to the <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/one-year-after-the-first-step-act/">Sentencing Project</a>. 342 people have also been released into the elderly home confinement pilot program. </p>
<p id="c7quYx">The problem, however, is that the Department of Justice has “attempted to block hundreds of eligible beneficiaries” and send those released back behind bars, according to the <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/one-year-after-the-first-step-act/">Sentencing Project</a>. </p>
<p id="QUFGIX">It may not be too surprising considering that Attorney General William Barr had expressed his concerns about the First Step Act behind closed doors, according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>. The publication found that Barr thought the early release could drive up crime numbers and put the administration in a bad light. </p>
<p id="IM54sp">As a result, the department has tried to freeze applications or re-incarcerate former inmates by <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2020/01/30/first-step-act-failing-some-who-live-fear-after-release/4558354002/">setting higher standards for their release.</a> Rather than judge their eligibility based on how much crack they possessed when convicted, DOJ argued that they should consider the largest amount of crack the inmate may have admitted to owning. Several federal judges have rejected this interpretation of the law, although at least five have agreed, according to the Post. Some have simply withheld their decision — further delaying the process. </p>
<p id="dlfZYB">DOJ’s challenges to the First Step Act has “a chilling psychological effect on those who have been released or are petitioning for release,” according to a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2020/01/30/first-step-act-failing-some-who-live-fear-after-release/4558354002/">USA Today column</a> from criminal justice reform activists Fred Davie and Julio Medina. </p>
<p id="7w8LF2">“Those benefiting from a sentence reduction cannot live in fear and should be provided with the proper training and tools to reenter society. Unfair treatment could adversely impact their ability to successfully assimilate,” they wrote. </p>
<p id="MZ1QeU">And beyond the disruption of the Justice Department, there’s a lot to be accomplished for the First Step Act to reach its full potential. Funding falls far short of the $75 million authorized by Congress. Many prisons lack both the space and money to hold vocational, educational, mental health, and substance abuse programming. And the government has yet to expand the Second Step Act, which promised to help break barriers in employment after release. Until all these issues are addressed, Trump’s criminal justice efforts — and the speeches he makes about them — remain lackluster. </p>
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21124047/trump-speech-sotu-criminal-justice-recordCatherine Kim2020-02-05T12:20:00-05:002020-02-05T12:20:00-05:00Why Nancy Pelosi ripping up some papers has set the internet on fire
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<figcaption>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears up her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. | Alex Brandon/AP</figcaption>
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<p>The “civility” debate is about more than niceties. </p> <p id="pfTxza"><a href="https://www.vox.com/donald-trump">President Trump</a> pulled out all the stops to put on a show at the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers">State of the Union</a>. And then <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/12/21062617/nancy-pelosi-trump-articles-of-impeachment-delay-senate">Speaker Nancy Pelosi</a> stole it by ripping up some pieces of paper.</p>
<p id="mjAqUk">The president pulled some reality show-style tricks out of his hat during Tuesday evening’s address — he gave a young girl a scholarship, reunited a military officer with his family, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123597/rush-limbaugh-medal-of-freedom-trump-racist-sexist">presented a medal of honor to a racist and misogynist radio host mid-speech</a>. But the president wasn’t the only one pulling stunts to get some attention — House Speaker Pelosi did, too. </p>
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<figcaption>Nancy Pelosi begins to rip a copy of President Trump’s State of the Union address.</figcaption>
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<p id="hpxuol">After Trump wrapped up his address on Tuesday, Pelosi, who alongside Vice President Mike Pence was seated behind the president during his speech, stood and tore in half the copy of his speech he had handed her at the outset of the evening. Other Democrats had also protested Trump’s address, with many opting not to attend and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123942/democrats-walked-out-trump-state-of-the-union-protest">some walking out mid-speech</a>. But it was Pelosi’s small gesture that cut deepest. She went about her protest calmly, but she made her point.</p>
<p id="qwT2f5">Viewers noticed, and video of Pelosi tearing up Trump’s speech quickly went viral online. The speaker of the House delivered <a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/hey-stop-it-nancy-pelosi-eiYLrO73TLVOx89TVV">yet</a> <a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/clap-nancy-pelosi-5bxl57jd6gDZA3GySS">another</a> GIFable moment — and, with the flick of a wrist, reminded Americans that she, too, has a point to make, and needs a lot fewer words and braggadocio than the president to make it.</p>
<p id="YEPLWw">Pelosi’s act of defiance is being celebrated on the left as the rejection of a president who has just been impeached and filled his State of the Union address with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/politics/state-of-the-union-2020-donald-trump/index.html">hateful rhetoric</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/04/fact-checking-president-trumps-2020-state-union-address/">lies</a>. On the right, <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-trump-pelosi-20200205-cwetwlghwbafxm23nl3pi4q4py-story.html">it’s being scorned</a>, and Pelosi is being criticized for not taking the “high road” in her actions. (Trump fails to take the high road in most things, but sure.) </p>
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<p id="C766bo">Yet again, we are debating what civility means — and whether it matters — in such a polarized, high-stakes era. And everybody’s digging in. Case in point: the hashtags trending on Twitter on Wednesday morning, including #PettyPelosi, #PelosiMeltdown, #NancyTheRipper, and #NancyPelosiROCKS.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">In less than 2 seconds, Nancy Pelosi completely negated trump’s entire speech. Brilliant. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NancyPelosiROCKS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NancyPelosiROCKS</a> <a href="https://t.co/iNcFCeIQ4m">pic.twitter.com/iNcFCeIQ4m</a></p>— I changed my name (@AtHomeInBk) <a href="https://twitter.com/AtHomeInBk/status/1225068627579351041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2020</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is what building bridges to the American people looks like.. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PelosiTantrum?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PelosiTantrum</a> is a tragic image of how divided our country is. <a href="https://t.co/q2GjCEJgwn">pic.twitter.com/q2GjCEJgwn</a></p>— Seth Harris (@Real_Theology) <a href="https://twitter.com/Real_Theology/status/1225041458991783936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2020</a>
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<p id="PjFwK8">There are myriad <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123495/biggest-lie-trump-state-of-the-union-2020-preexisting-conditions">fact-checks</a> of Trump’s speech, and there’s plenty of coverage of the content of what he said, how it was received, and what it meant. And yet here we are the day after, and what’s getting the most airtime is whether Nancy ripping up Don’s papers was too mean or just mean enough. </p>
<p id="mr9rEd">The reality of the civility debate, whether it’s Pelosi ripping up a speech or <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/25/17500988/sarah-sanders-red-hen-civility">a restaurant refusing to serve Sarah Sanders a meal</a>, is that it represents much more. The emotions aren’t about paper or salad — they’re a stand-in for much more deep-seated, complicated disagreements in America. And in a moment of increasing polarization, everything is a proxy for what we believe. </p>
<h3 id="o8nolq">Papergate, briefly explained</h3>
<p id="tMTwWv">If you opted out of watching Trump’s speech on Tuesday, you probably missed the paper rip heard around the world — and everything else that happened in the hour-plus leading up to it.</p>
<p id="E6EdYy">At the start of the evening when Trump entered the chamber, Pelosi offered her hand to the president as he gave her a copy of his speech, but he didn’t take it; perhaps he didn’t see it or chose to ignore it. </p>
<p id="Zs9vYU">Trump’s address in and of itself was a doozy — <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers">you can read Vox’s winners and losers wrap-up of it here</a>. A lot of the content was typical Trump: touting overstated and false assertions about the economy, fearmongering about immigration and socialism, characteristic bragging. </p>
<p id="WJnCm0">Trump, a former reality television star, also pulled some reality television stunts — he gave a young black girl a scholarship, reunited a military officer with his family, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123597/rush-limbaugh-medal-of-freedom-trump-racist-sexist">gave conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who just revealed he has stage 4 lung cancer, the Presidential Medal of Freedom</a>. (The first lady was actually the one to put it on him.) A parent whose child was killed in the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting <a href="https://www.local10.com/news/politics/2020/02/05/parkland-parent-removed-by-police-during-state-of-the-union-address-after-outburst/">was removed from the audience</a> after an outburst during Trump’s address.</p>
<p id="jXCTqu">Nearly a dozen Democrats <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123521/skip-state-of-the-union-aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez">skipped the State of the Union</a> in protest of the president, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123942/democrats-walked-out-trump-state-of-the-union-protest">others walked out as the speech got increasingly bizarre</a>. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I walked out of that speech. The lies, the bigotry, and the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live—it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies. Shame on this forever impeached president.</p>— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) <a href="https://twitter.com/RashidaTlaib/status/1224897653328269316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2020</a>
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<p id="U7QWcn">Pelosi stayed put, but, as mentioned, she stole the show at the very end by ripping up Trump’s speech as she stood behind him and Pence applauded next to her. </p>
<p id="AD0YBw">The speaker is not apologizing for her decision — and is making clear it was deliberate. “The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people,” she said in a <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/2520">statement</a> after the address. “The American people expect and deserve a President to have integrity and respect for the aspirations for their children.”</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SOTU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/7rUFbhWDDQ">https://t.co/7rUFbhWDDQ</a></p>— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1224921795872149504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2020</a>
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<p id="yWFHUh">The president, of course, isn’t going to let this one die out, either. <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1225050736435875840">As CNN’s Brian Stelter noted</a>, Trump has actually tweeted and retweeted more about Pelosi’s reaction to his speech than about his own speech.</p>
<h3 id="JKX9cf">Whether it’s Rashida Tlaib booing Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi tearing up pieces of paper, this is also about deeper divisions among us</h3>
<p id="WDCK8e">If this “controversy” seems familiar, it’s because it is — civility and just how nicely we’re supposed to play with one another is a conversation we have over and over again. Just look at this past weekend: Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a surrogate for Bernie Sanders on the 2020 campaign trail, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/1/21118135/rashida-tlaib-boo-rally-sanders-clinton">booed Hillary Clinton onstage at a campaign event</a>. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: At a <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BernieSanders</a> rally in Iowa tonight, a leading Sanders’ surrogate <a href="https://twitter.com/RashidaTlaib?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RashidaTlaib</a> led the crowd in booing <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HillaryClinton</a>. <a href="https://t.co/AKdi2psI2h">pic.twitter.com/AKdi2psI2h</a></p>— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisjollyhale/status/1223442238509850624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2020</a>
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<p id="mM0C4R">But the boo (for which Tlaib later apologized) is about more than some pejorative sound we make at sporting events — it’s a proxy for deeper divisions. <a href="https://www.axios.com/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-nobody-likes-him-f570ec0d-9ded-4966-9037-68dbf9abe931.html">Clinton has been taking public swipes at Sanders as of late</a>, and there’s still a lot of bad blood between Clinton and Sanders factions from the 2016 presidential election. </p>
<p id="tr3KYM">Sanders acolytes view themselves as slighted in 2016 by a Democratic establishment that stacked the deck for Clinton, tilting everything from the debate schedule to delegate structures against them.</p>
<p id="NCBEWG">The Clinton camp views Sanders and those around him as sore losers who did not wholeheartedly back her in 2016. And beyond Clinton versus Sanders, specifically, the boo results from competing visions on the left of which policies to push for and how to govern: Do you take a moderate approach to try to get things done, or do you try to overthrow the system?</p>
<h3 id="pFiPiq">Pelosi’s decision to rip up a piece of paper went viral because it’s a manifestation of visceral, deep divides within the country</h3>
<p id="RruRTR">For Democrats, Pelosi’s gesture was an f-you to a president who just minutes before told a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123495/biggest-lie-trump-state-of-the-union-2020-preexisting-conditions">blatant lie</a> to people worried about losing their health care and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123597/rush-limbaugh-medal-of-freedom-trump-racist-sexist">gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom</a> to a man who has spent years pumping racism, sexism, and hate into the American public’s veins. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/1/31/21115073/trump-impeachment-trial-witness-vote">It’s a small but forceful slight to a Republican Party that’s in all likelihood about to acquit a president for impeachable offenses, not even bothering to hear from witnesses</a>. Progressives see Trump as a nefarious and dangerous figure, and Pelosi’s paper tear is a manifestation of that.</p>
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<cite>Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Nancy Pelosi tearing up President Trump’s speech quickly went viral online. </figcaption>
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<p id="KE2533">Republicans, on the other hand, hold it up as another example of liberal hysteria (though Pelosi, if nothing else, seems exceedingly calm) and over-the-top rhetoric around the president. And they’re crying foul on the civility front — sure, many of them spent years saying Barack Obama was secretly born outside the United States and refusing to even hold a hearing for his Supreme Court nominee, but now they’re horrified at the indignity of the left. To be sure, some of the outrage is disingenuous. But there’s no denying that Republicans have plenty of deep political disagreements with Democrats. </p>
<p id="qIswQP">The civility debate won’t be going away, so when it bubbles up again, it’s important to remember what’s at the root of it. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-administration-critics-battle-restaurants-miller-sanders-nielsen-2018-6">When Trump officials are getting booed out of restaurants</a>, the conversation isn’t just about whether they’re getting a comfortable meal — it’s about whether the immigrant families they’re separating at the border are able to eat together.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21124293/nancy-pelosi-gif-trump-speech-papers-state-of-the-unionEmily Stewart2020-02-05T11:00:00-05:002020-02-05T11:00:00-05:00Trump undercut his message to black voters with celebrations of racism and white history
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<figcaption>President Trump delivers his State of the Union speech for 2020. | Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The president talked out of both sides of his mouth on race at the State of the Union. </p> <p id="SpAY5o">President Donald Trump opened <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123394/state-of-the-union-full-transcript-trump">his State of the Union speech</a> touting strong economic conditions for black Americans and their decorous record serving their country — before later announcing in the same speech that he would award a racist radio talk show host the Presidential Medal of Freedom and concluding on a very whitewashed version of US history.</p>
<p id="ou2Skc">It was a classic bit of Trumpian whiplash. The president loves to talk out of one side of his mouth, touting the economic gains for many Americans, including black people, while he’s been in the White House, before he starts talking out of the other, outlining a revanchist and white-centric worldview that thoroughly informs his politics.</p>
<p id="s6zIL0">As he opened his speech reviewing the state of the US economy, Trump quickly turned his attention to the fortunes of minorities — something he’s been <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/13/20960203/black-voices-for-trump-african-american-polling">emphasizing more</a> in the runup to his 2020 reelection campaign.</p>
<p id="PabR73">“The unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans have reached the lowest levels in history. African American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low,” Trump said. “African American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever recorded.” (As always with Trump, those stats are <a href="https://apnews.com/f78f4205f474482db8bb8fa7a5ebfa27">a little more complicated</a> than he let on: The improvement really started under Barack Obama.) </p>
<p id="zZPFZt">A bit later, he singled out one of the guests at the speech as well: Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, the first black fighter pilots.</p>
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<img alt="Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Charles McGee, who served with the Tuskagee Airmen, salutes during the State of the Union address with his great- grandson Iain Lanphier on February 04, 2020" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wCuIbPr_yZC6Mxl79_uBBvuM41A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19697771/GettyImages_1204095295.jpg">
<cite>Drew Angerer/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="HfYnJX">But a few token words can’t erase Trump’s history of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/9/16/12938066/donald-trump-obama-birth-certificate-birther">birtherism</a>, his equivocation between white nationalists and their opponents <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/8/15/16154028/trump-press-conference-transcript-charlottesville">in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017</a>, or many of the other words he’s said (<a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/1/11/16880750/trump-immigrants-shithole-countries-norway">“shithole countries”</a>) and deeds he’s done (<a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racist-racism-history">housing discrimination in the ’70s</a>).</p>
<p id="dY6C8j">And later in his speech, Trump reminded the audience that any aspirational rhetoric on race coming from him is probably empty.</p>
<h3 id="Nb7Hoy">Trump decided to honor a racially divisive conservative talk show host in his SOTU</h3>
<p id="HEh8kg">First, Trump announced he would give Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host in attendance who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is, as Trump noted, the highest civilian honor in the United States.</p>
<p id="sLkPsV">“Thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country,” Trump said. “Rush, in recognition of all that you have done for our nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to and inspire, and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”</p>
<p id="VscfsE">Trump is far from the first president to bestow this honor on a, shall we say, unsavory character — George W. Bush, for example, <a href="https://twitter.com/lkmcgann/status/1225068502077276161?s=20">chose a radio talk show host with retrograde views on race for the same award</a>.</p>
<p id="9vZd00">As <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123597/rush-limbaugh-medal-of-freedom-trump-racist-sexist">Vox’s Laura McGann reviewed</a>, Trump took the mighty stage of the State of the Union address, before Congress and a national television audience, and gave “one of America’s most prominent racists” official government recognization. </p>
<p id="KQ7jKn">Here is, via McGann, an abridged history of Limbaugh’s comments on race:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="ISC5OP">Limbaugh, like Trump, was a longtime <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/limbaugh-revives-debunked-claim-obama-created-his-own-birther-conspiracy"><strong>birther</strong></a>. Trump was an early birther adopter and kept spreading the conspiracy <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/29/16713664/trump-obama-birth-certificate"><strong>nine months into his presidency</strong></a>.</p>
<p id="2X2PkW">Limbaugh’s racist rants continued beyond the 2008 election and started long before.</p>
<p id="7qJgdD">- In <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qWdvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=black+caller+take+the+bone+out+of+your+nose+salon&source=bl&ots=C_yIC1KUCf&sig=ACfU3U2oXJJXWDN7Q8HC-QZL1D41TR-zlQ&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBq5_QzbnnAhVvhuAKHa-0C2wQ6AEwCnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=black%20caller%20take%20the%20bone%20out%20of%20your%20nose%20salon&f=false"><strong>1990, Newsday reported</strong></a> that Limbaugh snapped at a black caller who confronted him, saying, “Take the bone out of your nose and call me back.” (Limbaugh denies he said this.)</p>
<p id="ELIOcV">- In 2007, Limbaugh <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2013/01/20-most-racist-things-rush-limbaugh-has-ever-said/"><strong>joked</strong></a> he was “singing a song in my head here during the break: ‘Barack, the Magic Negro, doo doo do doo.’”</p>
<p id="cTCuCJ">- In <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/rush-limbaugh/limbaugh-nba-call-it-tba-thug-basketball-association-theyre-going-watch-crips-and"><strong>2004</strong></a>, he suggested that professional basketball players were criminals: “You just gotta be who you are, and I think it’s time to get rid of this whole National Basketball Association. Call it the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association, and stop calling them teams. Call ’em gangs,” he said.</p>
<p id="KJKIbf">- Three years later, Limbaugh described professional <a href="https://mediamatters.org/video/2009/10/12/matthews-whether-or-not-limbuagh-allowed-to-buy/155606#20091014"><strong>football</strong></a> players the same way. “Look, let me put it to you this way. The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.”</p>
<p id="IRv1Rx">- In 2011, he mocked a speech by the president of China, <a href="https://nbc25news.com/news/political/rush-limbaugh-in-hot-water-with-asian-americans-10-23-2015-024327487"><strong>saying</strong></a> on air, “Hu Jintao was just going, ‘Ching cha. Ching chang cho chow. Cha chow. Ching cho. Chi ba ba ba. Kwo kwa kwa kee.” Limbaugh continued this at length, then said, “Nobody was translating, but that’s the closest I can get.”</p>
<p id="CMqGsj">- In <a href="http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/12/08/zakaria_and_obama_agree_america_wasn_t_ready_for_a_black_president"><strong>2016</strong></a>, Limbaugh claimed that Obama’s race “amplified malcontent operations like Black Lives Matter. It gave rise to a thugocracy, and nobody had the guts to speak out against it for fear of what would happen to them.”</p>
<p id="gzcaAV">The list of examples goes <a href="https://www.alternet.org/2013/01/20-most-racist-things-rush-limbaugh-has-ever-said/"><strong>on</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/rush-limbaughs-most-outrageous-moments-25"><strong>on</strong></a>.</p>
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<p id="RTnfOa">And then came the concluding section of Trump’s speech.</p>
<h3 id="xIHAOI">Trump ended his State of the Union with a very white history of America</h3>
<p id="IU6c5C">“As the world bears witness tonight, America is a land of heroes,” Trump said as he wound down his address. “This is the place where greatness is born, where destinies are forged, and where legends come to life.”</p>
<p id="caHLIu">He then ran through some of that rich history and the characters who shaped it. As he named the illustrious names of US history — Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Neil Armstrong — he found time for a few black faces (Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman), but he was clearly evoking a very specific kind of history.</p>
<p id="Uhv0uw">“This is the country where children learn names like Wyatt Earp, Davy Crockett, and Annie Oakley. This is the place where the pilgrims landed at Plymouth and where Texas patriots made their last stand at the Alamo,” Trump said. “The American nation was carved out of the vast frontier by the toughest, strongest, fiercest, and most determined men and women ever to walk the face of the earth.”</p>
<p id="SRWT4x">As <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/5/21123628/trump-white-history-lesson-sotu">Vox’s Jessica Machado wrote</a>, Trump was telling a capital-W White version of American history:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="Xucoew">In his retelling of history, the president not only erased the millions of Native peoples prior to Columbus’s arrival in 1492, but suggested that their lands, livelihoods, and existence were something to be tamed and conquered. “Our ancestors,” as Trump referred to, were these settlers — white people from England and Europe. More recent immigrants were denigrated as “wicked human traffickers” and “illegals” in other parts of Trump’s speech. The nearly <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219"><strong>40 percent of Americans</strong></a> who are not white apparently did not bear mentioning in Trump’s history.</p>
<p id="IOpuag">In his revisionist telling of the “founding” of America, Trump also completely erased slavery. According to Trump, after taming the Wild West, and “lifting millions from poverty, disease, and hunger” (Indigenous people not among them), these ancestors also “laid down the railroads, dug out canals, raised up the skyscrapers — and, ladies and gentlemen, our ancestors built the most exceptional Republic ever to exist in all of human history.”</p>
<p id="qbPABO">Many historians would argue that it was not the white colonists who built the foundations of this country, but those they had enslaved. The White House, the Capitol, Wall Street, and many of our Ivy League universities were built with slave labor. America became a <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/8/16/20806069/slavery-economy-capitalism-violence-cotton-edward-baptist"><strong>global economy</strong></a> because of slave labor. It is an ugly history, but an undeniable one: The bodies of the enslaved — abused and routinely murdered — helped colonists build the country we know today.</p>
<p id="4tBJLX">Trump is notorious for these sorts of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racist-racism-history"><strong>dog whistles</strong></a> — and more overt displays of racism.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="GryENy">Trump wants to make token outreach to black voters without losing his base</h3>
<p id="ZnhLNk"><a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/12/15/16781222/trump-racism-economic-anxiety-study">As study after study has shown</a>, Trump won in 2016 in large part because he attracted white voters who felt some kind of race-based resentment or alienation. He’ll need those voters again in 2020.</p>
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<cite>Drew Angerer/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>President Trump delivers the State of the Union address on February 4, 2020.</figcaption>
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<p id="MFms4S">But that is also a limited pool of support, and Trump lost minority voters by huge margins. He and his campaign have made a big show of trying to attract black voters heading into his reelection bid. </p>
<p id="CAJrrm">“We’re going to campaign for every last African-American vote in 2020,” Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/us/politics/trump-black-voters.html?utm_source=link_newsv9&utm_campaign=item_268517&utm_medium=copy">said</a> in November 2019. “We’ve done more for African-Americans in three years than the broken Washington establishment has done in more than 30 years.”</p>
<p id="O8pSL2">Now, so far, the effects of any Trump black outreach have been minimal. Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/268517/analyzing-black-support-president-trump.aspx">pegged</a> his support among black voters at 10 percent just a few months ago. Other surveys have found black voters <a href="https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/464680-poll-overwhelming-majority-of-black-voters-choose-any-given-2020-democrat-over">overwhelmingly support</a> a Democrat, any Democrat, against Trump in the 2020 election and most black Americans <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/17/politics/black-voters-trump-poll/index.html">think</a> Trump is racist.</p>
<p id="Eu5aBd">Still, even shaving just a bit off of those margins could go a long way toward helping him win a second term. That’s why we will continue to hear overtures like those Trump made at his State of the Union speech. But he also seems likely to continue reminding voters, of all types, how much of his political movement is founded explicitly in white identity. It seems he just can’t help it.</p>
<p id="ldIR0P"></p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/5/21124044/trump-state-of-the-union-rush-limbaugh-charles-mcgeeDylan Scott2020-02-05T10:49:26-05:002020-02-05T10:49:26-05:00Trump vilified socialism in his State of the Union, using Venezuela as his foil
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<figcaption>Juan Guaidó waves as he is acknowledged by President Trump during his State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Juan Guaidó, Venezuela’s opposition leader, attended the speech as Trump’s guest. </p> <p id="0oO2E5">Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó appeared as a guest at the State of the Union on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump touting him as the “true and legitimate president of Venezuela.”</p>
<p id="16IFpO">Trump’s move was likely intended to boost Guaidó on the international stage, as the Venezuelan politician’s attempts to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power have <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/12/6/20998988/venezuela-juan-guaido-interview-maduro-trump">continued to flounder</a>.</p>
<p id="yUnLRe">Last January, Guaidó declared himself the rightful leader of Venezuela, and the United States and many other Western allies, including Canada and the European Union, endorsed him. But <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/30/18523818/venezuela-guaido-maduro-military-video">after a failed coup in April, </a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-analysis/disappointed-venezuelans-lose-patience-with-guaido-as-maduro-hangs-on-idUSKCN1TW3ME">declining support among Venezuelans</a>, and reports of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/juan-guaido-promised-to-save-venezuela-a-year-later-the-flame-he-lit-is-petering-out-his-us-backers-are-weighing-their-options/2019/12/17/48a18186-1495-11ea-80d6-d0ca7007273f_story.html">corruption scandals within the opposition he leads</a>, US support for his efforts <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/12/6/20998988/venezuela-juan-guaido-interview-maduro-trump">has waned</a>. </p>
<p id="ZblWtL">Meanwhile, Venezuela’s political and economic crises persist, and have morphed into a humanitarian catastrophe as millions have fled to neighboring countries. It is o<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/12/09/venezuela-refugee-crisis-to-become-the-largest-and-most-underfunded-in-modern-history/">n the verge of becoming</a> the world’s largest refugee crisis, surpassing Syria. </p>
<p id="WMgcC7">Guaidó, though, is trying to reinvigorate support for his campaign against Maduro, and just embarked on a <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-venezuelas-opposition-leader-may-achieve-in-u-s-visit">world tour </a>to boost those alliances. He’s reportedly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/venezuelas-guaido-hoped-to-meet-with-trump-hes-still-waiting/2020/01/31/f82372cc-4447-11ea-99c7-1dfd4241a2fe_story.html">been eager to get much-needed facetime with Trump</a> — and, in the end, managed to snag a State of the Union invite instead. On Wednesday, the White House <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-meet-with-venezuela-opposition-leader-guaido-at-white-house-11580916932">announced</a> that the president would also meet with Guaidó. </p>
<p id="ikL3VK">Guaidó was greeted with enthusiastic applause during the State of the Union, but this renewed attention by Trump, so far, looks unlikely to alter the political stalemate in Venezuela.</p>
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<cite>Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Juan Guaidó pumps his fist as he is acknowledged during the State of the Union address.</figcaption>
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<p id="8TpOo3">But it certainly gave Trump an opportunity to boast about his foreign policy, and to once again use Venezuela’s crisis to decry the dangers of socialism. It’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/19/18231438/trump-venezuela-socialism-sanders">a tactic he’s used before</a>, in an attempt to denigrate his 2020 Democratic opponents. </p>
<p id="Ac2yz4">“As we restore American leadership throughout the world, we are once again standing up for freedom in our hemisphere,” Trump boasted, citing the administration’s policies against Cuba (<a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/6/4/18652342/cuba-trump-restrictions-travel-cruises">reversing Obama-era opening</a>), Nicaragua, and Venezuela. </p>
<p id="HcInaN">On Venezuela, Trump said that Maduro is “an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalizes his people. But Maduro’s grip of tyranny will be smashed and broken.”</p>
<p id="UGPY7m">Guaidó, Trump said, was the man who would do so. “Mr. President, please take this message back to your homeland,” Trump told Guaidó as he stood in the gallery. “Americans are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom! Socialism destroys nations. But always remember, freedom unifies the soul.”</p>
<p id="qmVpLd">Trump has repeatedly used Maduro has a foil to rail against socialism, in an attempt, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/19/18231438/trump-venezuela-socialism-sanders">Vox’s Alex Ward</a> put it, “to scare Republican voters in Florida and elsewhere that the Democrats are a bunch of socialists that could soon turn American into a Venezuela-like hellscape.” </p>
<p id="i3EkhT">Trump wasn’t that explicit in his State of the Union, but the subtext was there. And though he painted Guaidó as the antidote, he did forget to mention that <a href="https://www.ozy.com/opinion/venezuelas-standoff-is-socialist-vs-socialist/92589/">Guaidó is himself a socialist</a> and his leadership of Venezuela has been backed by the <a href="https://en.mercopress.com/2019/01/30/venezuela-socialist-international-recognizes-guaido-and-calls-maduro-illegitimate">Council of the Socialist International</a>. They, too, have rejected Maduro.</p>
<p id="Ms3bia">The United States <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/6/20757044/venezuela-sanctions-trump-administration-bolton">has imposed tough sanctions</a> on Maduro and his allies; so far, though, Maduro remains entrenched. And one area the United States could help Venezuelans in — as Trump put it, “their righteous struggle for freedom!” — would be to help the thousands of Venezuelans who are fleeing the precarious conditions in the country. </p>
<p id="cb7R20">Lawmakers, including <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article235479617.html">prominent Republicans</a>, have called on the Trump administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans fleeing Maduro’s regime. So far, the Trump administration <a href="https://twitter.com/TomJawetz/status/1224883046261936130?s=20">hasn’t taken action</a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123557/state-of-the-union-2020-trump-socialism-venezuela-guaidoJen Kirby2020-02-05T09:02:55-05:002020-02-05T09:02:55-05:00Read the full text of Trump’s State of the Union speech
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<figcaption>President Trump arrives to deliver his State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP</figcaption>
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<p>President Donald Trump addressed Congress Tuesday night for his State of the Union address.</p> <p id="0JhP6r">President Donald Trump addressed Congress on Tuesday night for his last <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers"><strong>State of the Union</strong></a> address before the 2020 election, claiming in an appeal to voters that, over the past three years, he had helped stage the “Great American Comeback.”</p>
<p id="RbJUfJ">A transcript follows:</p>
<aside id="3x628l"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"4 winners and 2 losers from Trump’s 2020 State of the Union","url":"https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers"}]}'></div></aside><hr class="p-entry-hr" id="iXzsXj">
<p id="wuKzX8">Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and my fellow citizens:</p>
<p id="FYLX5G">Three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. Tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results. Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again! America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise, and America’s future is blazing bright.</p>
<p id="e53uLu">The years of economic decay are over. The days of our country being used, taken advantage of, and even scorned by other nations are long behind us. Gone too are the broken promises, jobless recoveries, tired platitudes, and constant excuses for the depletion of American wealth, power, and prestige.</p>
<p id="o5ebfo">In just 3 short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline, and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!</p>
<p id="dW72cO">I am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been. Our military is completely rebuilt, with its power being unmatched anywhere in the world — and it is not even close. Our borders are secure. Our families are flourishing. Our values are renewed. Our pride is restored. And for all these reasons, I say to the people of our great country, and to the Members of Congress before me: The State of our Union is stronger than ever before!</p>
<p id="Lcw4Ok">The vision I will lay out this evening demonstrates how we are building the world’s most prosperous and inclusive society — one where every citizen can join in America’s unparalleled success, and where every community can take part in America’s extraordinary rise.</p>
<p id="PojUdu">From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the United States economy — slashing a record number of job-killing regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for fair and reciprocal trade agreements. Our agenda is relentlessly pro-worker, pro-family, pro-growth, and, most of all, pro-American. We are advancing with unbridled optimism and lifting high our citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed.</p>
<p id="mczVzP">Since my election, we have created 7 million new jobs — 5 million more than Government experts projected during the previous administration.</p>
<p id="UV9cUh">The unemployment rate is the lowest in over half a century.</p>
<p id="Tv7wcJ">And very incredibly, the average unemployment rate under my Administration is lower than any administration in the history of our country. If we had not reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witness to America’s great economic success.</p>
<p id="PabR73">The unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans have reached the lowest levels in history. African-American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low.</p>
<p id="jv7tNH">African-American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever recorded.</p>
<p id="sy0HB7">The unemployment rate for women reached the lowest level in almost 70 years — and last year, women filled 72 percent of all new jobs added.</p>
<p id="R0E18n">The veterans’ unemployment rate dropped to a record low.</p>
<p id="GgjbLh">The unemployment rate for disabled Americans has reached an all-time low.</p>
<p id="nyNKm8">Workers without a high school diploma have achieved the lowest unemployment rate recorded in United States history.</p>
<p id="OgFufX">A record number of young Americans are now employed.</p>
<p id="OsYiQl">Under the last administration, more than 10 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Under my Administration, 7 million Americans have come off of food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare.</p>
<p id="Z0IzqD">In 8 years under the last administration, over 300,000 working-age people dropped out of the workforce. In just 3 years of my Administration, 3.5 million working-age people have joined the workforce.</p>
<p id="JPIMZv">Since my election, the net worth of the bottom half of wage-earners has increased by 47 percent — 3 times faster than the increase for the top 1 percent. After decades of flat and falling incomes, wages are rising fast — and, wonderfully, they are rising fastest for low-income workers, who have seen a 16 percent pay-increase since my election. This is a blue collar boom.</p>
<p id="yQEKEE">Real median household income is now at the highest level ever recorded!</p>
<p id="L3Zn1d">Since my election, United States stock markets have soared 70 percent, adding more than $12 trillion to our Nation’s wealth, transcending anything anyone believed was possible. This is a record. It is something every country in the world is looking up to. Consumer confidence has reached amazing new heights.</p>
<p id="tCqhqR">All of those millions of people with 401(k)s and pensions are doing far better than they have ever done before with increases of 60 percent, 80 percent, 100 percent and even more. </p>
<p id="xZekLU">Jobs and investment are pouring into 9,000 previously-neglected neighborhoods thanks to Opportunity Zones, a plan spearheaded by Senator Tim Scott as part of our great Republican tax cuts. In other words, wealthy people and companies are pouring money into poor neighborhoods or areas that have not seen investment in many decades, creating jobs, energy, and excitement. This is the first time that these deserving communities have seen anything like this. It is all working!</p>
<p id="pPk1DP">Opportunity Zones are helping Americans like Army Veteran Tony Rankins from Cincinnati, Ohio. After struggling with drug addiction, Tony lost his job, his house, and his family — he was homeless. But then Tony found a construction company that invests in Opportunity Zones. He is now a top tradesman, drug-free, reunited with his family, and he is here tonight. Keep up the great work, Tony. </p>
<p id="sTUizr">Our roaring economy has, for the first time ever, given many former prisoners the ability to get a great job and a fresh start. This second chance at life is made possible because we passed landmark Criminal Justice Reform into law. Everybody said that Criminal Justice Reform could not be done, but I got it done, and the people in this room got it done.</p>
<p id="8Krd70">Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far. With the tremendous progress we have made over the past 3 years, America is now energy independent, and energy jobs, like so many elements of our country, are at a record high. We are doing numbers that no one would have thought possible just 3 years ago.</p>
<p id="BsnYJw">Likewise, we are restoring our Nation’s manufacturing might, even though predictions were, as you all know, that this could never be done. After losing 60,000 factories under the previous two administrations, America has now gained 12,000 new factories under my Administration with thousands upon thousands of plants and factories being planned or built. We have created over half a million new manufacturing jobs. Companies are not leaving; they are coming back to the USA. The fact is that everybody wants to be where the action is, and the United States of America is, indeed, where the action is.</p>
<p id="LcZjti">One of the biggest promises I made to the American people was to replace the disastrous NAFTA trade deal. In fact, unfair trade is perhaps the single biggest reason that I decided to run for President. Following NAFTA’s adoption, our Nation lost one in four manufacturing jobs. Many politicians came and went, pledging to change or replace NAFTA — only to do absolutely nothing. But unlike so many who came before me, I keep my promises. We did our job. Six days ago, I replaced NAFTA and signed the brand new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) into law.</p>
<p id="rJr1pp">The USMCA will create nearly 100,000 new high-paying American auto jobs, and massively boost exports for our farmers, ranchers, and factory workers. It will also bring trade with Mexico and Canada to a much higher level, but also to a much greater degree of fairness and reciprocity. We will have that. Fairness and reciprocity. I say that finally, because it has been many years that we were treated fairly on trade. This is the first major trade deal in many years to earn the strong backing of America’s labor unions. </p>
<p id="ijMaIS">I also promised our citizens that I would impose tariffs to confront China’s massive theft of American jobs. Our strategy worked. Days ago, we signed the groundbreaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the United States of America. </p>
<p id="KwLLti">For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States, now we have changed. At the same time, we have the best relationship we have ever had with China, including with President Xi. They respect what we have done because, quite frankly, they could never believe what they were able to get away with what they were doing year after year, decade after decade, without someone in our country stepping up and saying: That’s enough. Now, we want to rebuild our country, and that is exactly what we are doing. We are rebuilding our country. </p>
<p id="cAsBDR">As we restore American leadership throughout the world, we are once again standing up for freedom in our hemisphere. That is why my Administration reversed the failing policies of the previous administration on Cuba. We are supporting the hopes of Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to restore democracy. The United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who abuses his people. </p>
<p id="B1Fszj">But tyranny will be smashed and broken. Here this evening is a man who carries with him the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of all Venezuelans. Joining us in the gallery is the true and legitimate President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó. Thank you, Mr. President. Great honor. Thank you very much. Please take this message back that all Americans are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom! Socialism destroys nations. But always remember, freedom unifies the soul. </p>
<p id="5WsZTp">To safeguard American Liberty, we have invested a record-breaking $2.2 trillion in the United States Military. We have purchased the finest planes, missiles, rockets, ships, and every other form of military equipment. And it is made right here in the USA. We are also finally getting our allies to help pay their fair share. I have raised contributions from the other NATO members by more than $400 billion, and the number of allies meeting their minimum obligations has more than doubled. And just weeks ago, for the first time since President Truman established the Air Force more than 70 years earlier, we created a new branch of the United States Armed Forces. It’s called the Space Force. Very important.</p>
<p id="WtmqYV">In the gallery tonight, we have a young gentleman. What he wants so badly — 13 years old — he is an eighth grader from Arizona. Ian, please stand up. Ian has always dreamed of going to space. He was the first in his class and among the youngest at an aviation academy. He aspires to go to the Air Force Academy, and then he has his eye on the Space Force. Most people look up at space. Ian says I want to look down on the world. </p>
<p id="u8NLrV">But sitting behind Ian tonight is his greatest hero of them all, Charles McGee, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio one century ago. Charles is one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen — the first black fighter pilots — and he also happens to be Iain’s great-grandfather. Incredible story. After more than 130 combat missions in World War II, he came back to a country still struggling for Civil Rights and went on to serve America in Korea and Vietnam. On December 7th, Charles celebrated his 100th birthday. A few weeks ago, I signed a bill promoting Charles McGee to Brigadier General. And earlier today, I pinned the stars on his shoulders in the Oval Office. General McGee: Our Nation salutes you. Thank you, sir. </p>
<p id="pSDhfM">From the pilgrims to our Founders, from the soldiers at Valley Forge to the marchers at Selma, and from President Lincoln to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Americans have always rejected limits on our children’s future.</p>
<p id="uo1dJa">Members of Congress, we must never forget that the only victories that matter in Washington are victories that deliver for the American people. The people are the heart of our country, their dreams are the soul of our country, and their love is what powers and sustains our country. We must always remember that our job is to put America first!</p>
<p id="gzPh9d">The next step forward in building an inclusive society is making sure that every young American gets a great education and the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Yet, for too long, countless American children have been trapped in failing government schools. To rescue these students, 18 States have created school choice in the form of Opportunity Scholarships. The programs are so popular, that tens of thousands of students remain on waiting lists. One of those students is Janiyah Davis, a fourth grader from Philadelphia. Janiyah’s mom Stephanie is a single parent. She would do anything to give her daughter a better future. But last year, that future was put further out of reach when Pennsylvania’s Governor vetoed legislation to expand school choice for 50,000 children.</p>
<p id="6B6Mnv">Janiyah and Stephanie are in the gallery this evening. Stephanie, thank you so much for being here with your beautiful daughter. But Janiyah, I have some good news for you. I am pleased to inform you that your long wait is over. I can proudly announce tonight that an Opportunity Scholarship is going to you, and you will soon be heading to the school of your choice!</p>
<p id="0104f9">Now, I call on the Congress to give 1 million American children the same opportunity Janiyah has just received. Pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act — because no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government school. </p>
<p id="t7zGmu">Every young person should have a safe and secure environment in which to learn and grow. For this reason, our magnificent First Lady has launched the “Be Best” initiative — to support a safe and drug-free life for the next generation, online, in school, and in our communities. Thank you, Melania, for your extraordinary love and profound care for America’s children.</p>
<p id="X8R8BR">My Administration is determined to give our citizens the opportunities they need regardless of age or background. Through our Pledge to American Workers, over 400 companies will also provide new jobs and education opportunities to almost 15 million Americans. </p>
<p id="d0VT8v">My Budget also contains an exciting vision for our Nation’s high schools. Tonight, I ask the Congress to support our students and back my plan to offer vocational and technical education in every single high school in America. </p>
<p id="tQmSXm">To expand equal opportunity, I am also proud that we achieved record and permanent funding for our Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.</p>
<p id="xb0ZsD">A good life for American families also requires the most affordable, innovative, and high-quality healthcare system on Earth. I moved quickly to provide affordable alternatives. Our new plans are up to 60 percent less expensive. I have also made an ironclad pledge to American families: We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions. And we will always protect your Medicare and your Social Security. Always.</p>
<p id="AP4ECN">The American patient should never be blindsided by medical bills. That is why I signed an Executive Order requiring price transparency. Many experts believe that transparency, which will go into full effect at the beginning of next year, will be even bigger than healthcare reform. It will save families massive amounts of money for substantially better care.</p>
<p id="8UnEpc">But as we work to improve Americans’ healthcare, there are those who want to take away your healthcare, take away your doctor, and abolish private insurance entirely. 132 lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our healthcare system, wiping out the private health insurance plans of 180 million Americans. To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare!</p>
<p id="WLwBZs">Over 130 legislators in this chamber have endorsed legislation that would bankrupt our Nation by providing free taxpayer-funded healthcare to millions of illegal aliens, forcing taxpayers to subsidize free care for anyone in the world who unlawfully crosses our borders. These proposals would raid the Medicare benefits of our seniors and that our seniors depend on, while acting as a powerful lure for illegal immigration. This is what is happening in California and other States — their systems are totally out of control, costing taxpayers vast and unaffordable amounts of money. If forcing American taxpayers to provide unlimited free healthcare to illegal aliens sounds fair to you, then stand with the radical left. But if you think we should defend American patients and seniors, stand with me to pass legislation to prohibit free healthcare for illegal aliens!</p>
<p id="GN5YoV">This will be a tremendous boon to our already strongly guarded southern border where, as we speak, a long, tall, and very powerful wall is being built. We have now completed over 100 miles and will have over 500 miles fully completed in a very short period of time. Early next year, we will have substantially more than 500 miles completed.</p>
<p id="miBMjR">My Administration is also taking on the big pharmaceutical companies. We have approved a record number of affordable generic drugs, and medicines are being approved by the FDA at a faster clip than ever before. I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down.</p>
<p id="TOFfWU">And working together, the Congress can reduce drug prices substantially from current levels. I have been speaking to Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and others in the Congress in order to get something on drug pricing done, and done quickly and properly. I am calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices. Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law immediately.</p>
<p id="ljgUW1">With unyielding commitment, we are curbing the opioid epidemic — drug overdose deaths declined for the first time in nearly 30 years. Among the States hardest hit, Ohio is down 22 percent, Pennsylvania is down 18 percent, Wisconsin is down 10 percent — and we will not quit until we have beaten the opioid epidemic once and for all.</p>
<p id="GMdFSw">Protecting Americans’ health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the Coronavirus outbreak in China. My Administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat. </p>
<p id="tSoZ5p">We have launched ambitious new initiatives to substantially improve care for Americans with kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, and those struggling with mental health challenges. And because Congress was so good as to fund my request, we are pursuing new cures for childhood cancer, and we will eradicate the AIDS epidemic in America by the end of the decade.</p>
<p id="stEENL">Almost every American family knows the pain when a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness. Here tonight is a special man, someone beloved by millions of Americans who just received a Stage 4 advanced cancer diagnosis. This is not good news, but what is good news is that he is the greatest fighter and winner that you will ever meet. Rush Limbaugh: Thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country. Rush, in recognition of all that you have done for our Nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to and inspire, and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I will now ask the First Lady of the United States to please stand and present you with the honor. Rush, congratulations. Thank you, Kathryn.</p>
<p id="toB85X">As we pray for all who are sick, we know that America is constantly achieving new medical breakthroughs. In 2017, doctors at St. Luke’s hospital in Kansas City delivered one of the earliest premature babies ever to survive. Born at just 21 weeks and 6 days, and weighing less than a pound, Ellie Schneider was born a fighter. Through the skill of her doctors — and the prayers of her parents — little Ellie kept on winning the battle for life. Today, Ellie is a strong, healthy 2-year-old girl sitting with her amazing mother Robin in the gallery. Ellie and Robin: We are so glad you are with us tonight. </p>
<p id="Gjy9eH">Ellie reminds us that every child is a miracle of life. Thanks to modern medical wonders, 50 percent of very premature babies delivered at the hospital where Ellie was born now survive. Just an incredible thing. Thank you very much. Our goal should be to ensure that every baby has the best chance to thrive and grow just like Ellie. That is why I am asking the Congress to provide an additional $50 million to fund neo-natal research for America’s youngest patients. That is also why I am calling upon the Members of Congress here tonight to pass legislation finally banning the late-term abortion of babies.</p>
<p id="uQ5fjl">Whether we are Republican, Democrat, or Independent, surely we must all agree that every human life is a sacred gift from God!</p>
<p id="ovIZQ7">As we support America’s moms and dads, I was recently proud to sign the law providing new parents in the Federal workforce paid family leave, serving as a model for the rest of the country. Now, I call on the Congress to pass the bipartisan Advancing Support for Working Families Act, extending family leave to mothers and fathers all across the Nation.</p>
<p id="8411HZ">Forty million American families have an average $2,200 extra thanks to our child tax credit. I have also overseen historic funding increases for high-quality child care, enabling 17 States to serve more children, many of which have reduced or eliminated their waitlists altogether. And I sent the Congress a plan to expand access to high-quality childcare and urge you to act immediately.</p>
<p id="2GQnBE">To protect the environment, days ago, I announced that the United States will join the One Trillion Trees Initiative, an ambitious effort to bring together Government and the private sector to plant new trees in America and around the world. </p>
<p id="Qpjce1">We must also rebuild America’s infrastructure. I ask you to pass Senator Barrasso’s highway bill — to invest in new roads, bridges, and tunnels across our land. </p>
<p id="2kcPaZ">I am also committed to ensuring that every citizen can have access to high-speed internet, including rural America.</p>
<p id="NHIwER">A better tomorrow for all Americans also requires us to keep America safe. That means supporting the men and women of law enforcement at every level, including our Nation’s heroic ICE officers.</p>
<p id="501MU8">Last year, our brave ICE officers arrested more than 120,000 criminal aliens charged with nearly 10,000 burglaries, 5,000 sexual assaults, 45,000 violent assaults, and 2,000 murders.</p>
<p id="jE1ZZI">Tragically, there are many cities in America where radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegal aliens. In Sanctuary Cities, local officials order police to release dangerous criminal aliens to prey upon the public, instead of handing them over to ICE to be safely removed.</p>
<p id="oOKwYy">Just 29 days ago, a criminal alien freed by the Sanctuary City of New York was charged with the brutal rape and murder of a 92-year-old woman. The killer had been previously arrested for assault, but under New York’s sanctuary policies, he was set free. If the city had honored ICE’s detainer request, his victim would be alive today.</p>
<p id="DjiGwE">The State of California passed an outrageous law declaring their whole State to be a sanctuary for criminal illegal immigrants — with catastrophic results.</p>
<p id="rtNzDf">The state of California passed an outrageous law declaring their whole state to be a sanctuary for criminal illegal immigrants, a terrible sanctuary, with catastrophic results. In December 2018, California police detained an illegal alien with five prior arrests, including convictions for robbery and assault. But as required by California’s Sanctuary Law, local authorities released him.</p>
<p id="f2uSbf">Days later, the criminal alien went on a gruesome spree of deadly violence. He viciously shot one man going about his daily work; he approached a woman sitting in her car and shot her in the arm and the chest. He walked into a convenience store and wildly fired his weapon. He hijacked a truck and smashed into vehicles, critically injuring innocent victims. </p>
<p id="MUp4PU">One of the victims is in a terrible, terrible situation. He left behind a devoted family, including his brothers who lived in more than anything else in the world. One of his grieving brothers is here with us tonight. Please stand, Jodi? We will not we are allowing Americans — we will not rest until you have justice. Thom is introducing legislation that will allow people like Jodi to sue them. The United States of America should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans, not criminal aliens. </p>
<p id="4DWTQ4">In the last 3 years, ICE has arrested over 5,000 wicked human traffickers — and I have signed 9 pieces of legislation to stamp out the menace of human trafficking, domestically and around the globe.</p>
<p id="xqRprM">My Administration has undertaken an unprecedented effort to secure the southern border of the United States. </p>
<p id="ca0Suz">Before I came into office, if you showed up illegally on our southern border and were arrested, you were simply released and allowed into our country, never to be seen again. My Administration has ended Catch-and-Release. If you come illegally, you will now be promptly removed. We entered into historic cooperation agreements with the Governments of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. As a result of our unprecedented efforts, illegal crossings are down 75 percent since May — dropping 8 straight months in a row. And as the wall goes up, drug seizures rise, and border crossings go down.</p>
<p id="KiEBZJ">Last year, I traveled to the border in Texas and met Chief Patrol Agent Raul Ortiz. Over the last 24 months, Agent Ortiz and his team have seized more than 200,000 pounds of poisonous narcotics, arrested more than 3,000 human smugglers, and rescued more than 2,000 migrants. Days ago, Agent Ortiz was promoted to Deputy Chief of Border Patrol — and he joins us tonight. Chief Ortiz: Please stand — a grateful Nation thanks you and all the heroes of Border Patrol.</p>
<p id="qp8KM2">To build on these historic gains, we are working on legislation to replace our outdated and randomized immigration system with one based on merit, welcoming those who follow the rules, contribute to our economy, support themselves financially, and uphold our values.</p>
<p id="tDNocw">With every action, my Administration is restoring the rule of law and re-asserting the culture of American freedom. Working with Senate Majority Leader McConnell and his colleagues in the Senate, we have confirmed a record number of 187 new Federal judges to uphold our Constitution as written. This includes Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. Thank you. We have many in the pipeline.</p>
<p id="NnGjE9">My Administration is also defending religious liberty, and that includes the Constitutional right to pray in public schools. In America, we do not punish prayer. We do not tear down crosses. We do not ban symbols of faith. We do not muzzle preachers and pastors. In America, we celebrate faith. We cherish religion. We lift our voices in prayer, and we raise our sights to the Glory of God!</p>
<p id="W50n9p">Just as we believe in the First Amendment, we also believe in another Constitutional right that is under siege all across our country. So long as I am President I will always protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.</p>
<p id="zZyqj0">In reaffirming our heritage as a free Nation, we must remember that America has always been a frontier nation. Now we must embrace the next frontier, America’s manifest destiny in the stars. I am asking the Congress to fully fund the Artemis program to ensure that the next man and the first woman on the moon will be American astronauts — using this as a launching pad to ensure that America is the first nation to plant its flag on Mars.</p>
<p id="xZqhcw">My Administration is also strongly defending our national security and combating radical Islamic terrorism. Last week, I announced a groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Recognizing that all past attempts have failed, we must be determined and creative in order to stabilize the region and give millions of young people the change to realize a better future.</p>
<p id="Lubexv">Three years ago, the barbarians of ISIS held over 20,000 square miles of territory in Iraq and Syria. Today, the ISIS territorial caliphate has been 100 percent destroyed, and the founder and leader of ISIS — the bloodthirsty killer Al‑Baghdadi — is dead!</p>
<p id="6RgHYz">We are joined this evening by Carl and Marsha Mueller. After graduating from college, their beautiful daughter Kayla became a humanitarian aid worker. She once wrote, “Some people find God in church. Some people find God in nature. Some people find God in love; I find God in suffering. I’ve known for some time what my life’s work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering.” In 2013, while caring for suffering civilians in Syria, Kayla was kept as a prisoner of Al-Baghdadi himself. After more than 500 horrifying days of captivity, Al-Baghdad murdered young, beautiful Kayla. She was just 26 years old.</p>
<p id="j0q4ia">On the night that United States Special Forces Operators ended his miserable life, we received a call in the situation room. We were told that the brave men of the elite Special Forces team, that so perfectly carried out the operation, had given their mission a name — “Task Force 8-14.” It was special because that was Kayla’s birthday. They never forgot Kayla and neither will we. </p>
<p id="sarT26">Every day, America’s men and women in uniform demonstrate the infinite depths of love that dwells in the human heart.</p>
<p id="nTDtjZ">One of these American heroes was Army Staff Sergeant Christopher Hake. On his second deployment to Iraq in 2008, Sergeant Hake wrote a letter to his 1-year-old son, Gage: ”I will be with you again,” he wrote to Gage. ”I will teach you to ride your first bike, build your first sandbox, watch you play sports and see you have kids also. I love you son, take care of your mother. I am always with you. Dad.” On Easter Sunday of 2008, Chris was out on patrol in Baghdad when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. That night, he made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Sergeant Hake now rests in eternal glory in Arlington, and his wife Kelli is in the gallery tonight, joined by their son, who is now 13 years old. To Kelli and Gage: Chris will live in our hearts forever. He is looking down on you now. Thank you. </p>
<p id="fhQ0JB">The terrorist responsible for killing Sergeant Hake was Qasem Soleimani, who provided the deadly roadside bomb that took Chris’s life. Soleimani was the Iranian Regime’s most ruthless butcher. He murdered thousands of American servicemembers in Iraq. As the world’s top terrorist, Soleimani orchestrated the deaths of countless men, women, and children. He directed the December assault on United States Forces in Iraq, and was actively planning new attacks. That is why, last month, at my direction, the United States Military executed a flawless precision strike that killed Soleimani and terminated his evil reign of terror forever.</p>
<p id="ukoBpL">Our message is you will never escape American justice. If you attack our citizens, you forfeit your life!</p>
<p id="FM5LEY">In recent months, we have seen proud Iranians raise their voices against their oppressive rulers. The Iranian regime must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, stop spreading terror, death, and destruction, and start working for the good of its own people. Because of our powerful sanctions, the Iranian economy is doing very poorly. We can help them make a very good and short recovery. It can all go quickly — let’s see which road they choose. It is totally up to them. </p>
<p id="nvHIp7">As we defend American lives, we are working to end America’s wars in the Middle East.</p>
<p id="oniKJz">We have made tremendous progress, and peace talks are underway. I am not looking to kill hundreds of thousands of people in Afghanistan, many of them totally innocent. It is also not our function to serve other nations as a law enforcement agency. These are warfighters, the best in the world, and they either want to fight to win or not fight at all. We are working to finally end America’s longest war and bring our troops back home!</p>
<p id="CvG0tW">War places a heavy burden on our Nation’s extraordinary military families, especially spouses like Amy Williams from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and her 2 children — 6-year-old Elliana and 3-year-old Rowan. For the past seven months, her husband has been in Afghanistan for seven months on his fourth deployment. Amy’s kids have not seen their father’s face in many months. Amy, your family’s sacrifice makes it possible for all of our families to live in safety and peace — and we want to thank you. Thank you, Amy.</p>
<p id="Y5nsFa">There is one more thing. Tonight, we have a very special surprise. I am thrilled to inform you that your husband is back from deployment. He is here with us tonight. Welcome home sergeant Williams. Thank you very much.</p>
<p id="Uhv0uw">As the world bears witness tonight, America is a land of heroes. This is the place where greatness is born, where destinies are forged, and where legends come to life. This is the home of Thomas Edison and Teddy Roosevelt, of many great Generals, including Washington, Pershing, Patton, and MacArthur. This is the home of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, the Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong, and so many more. This is the country where children learn names like Wyatt Earp, Davy Crockett, and Annie Oakley. This is the place where the pilgrims landed at Plymouth and where Texas patriots made their last stand at the Alamo.</p>
<p id="DkzD6a">The American Nation was carved out of the vast frontier by the toughest, strongest, fiercest, and most determined men and women ever to walk the face of the Earth. Our ancestors braved the unknown; tamed the wilderness; settled the Wild West; lifted millions from poverty, disease, and hunger; vanquished tyranny and fascism; ushered the world to new heights of science and medicine; laid down the railroads, dug out canals, raised up the skyscrapers — and, ladies and gentlemen, our ancestors built the most exceptional Republic ever to exist in all of human history. And we are making it greater than ever before!</p>
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https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123394/state-of-the-union-full-transcript-trumpNicole NareaCatherine Kim2020-02-05T08:50:00-05:002020-02-05T08:50:00-05:00Trump called on Congress to pass a drug prices bill. Democrats reminded him they already did.
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<figcaption>House Democrats hold up three fingers in support of their drug prices bill at President Trump’s State of the Union speech. | Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The impromptu Democratic protest at Trump’s State of the Union, briefly explained.</p> <p id="qxqBIs">President Trump largely glossed over health care in <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21123529/trump-state-of-the-union-2020-winners-losers">his State of the Union speech</a>, but he did try to put one item on Congress’s to-do list: He promised if the body passed a bipartisan bill to reduce prescription drug costs, “I will sign it into law immediately.”</p>
<p id="nD4FWm">It was a statement that didn’t sit too well with some House Democrats, who passed comprehensive legislation to cut drug prices just a few weeks ago. So a few of them stood up, held three fingers in the air, and shouted <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/12/12/21010905/house-democrats-pass-prescription-drug-price-bill">“H-R-3”</a> (the number of their bill) — interrupting Trump for a few awkward moments in the middle of his speech.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump claimed that he’s taking on big Pharma.<br><br>House Democrats chanted ‘HR-3’ in response, referencing the bill they passed that would lower drug prices. <br><br>HR-3 currently sits in Mitch McConnell's legislation 'graveyard.' <a href="https://t.co/iRy2enChvS">pic.twitter.com/iRy2enChvS</a></p>— NowThis (@nowthisnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1224894898039554048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2020</a>
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<p id="myvuac">Democrats and Republicans actually do agree on the need to reduce drug costs. But not on how to do it. So despite Trump’s overtures, and the forceful Democratic response, it’s going to be hard for anything to get done.</p>
<h3 id="lZ5mU7">There’s two approaches to drug pricing reform — and both are stalled</h3>
<p id="0bu68t">The House bill — H.R.3 — has a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/9/19/20856948/house-democrats-prescription-drug-prices">few mechanisms</a> for reducing prescription drug prices, but most notably, it would allow the US health department to directly negotiate the prices it will pay for up to 250 drugs every year. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the bill would save Medicare up to $450 billion over 10 years because of those new negotiating powers. CBO has also projected about eight fewer drugs (out of an expected 300 over 10 years) would come to the market in the next decade because of the decrease in revenues for drug makers.</p>
<p id="KtHJ9B">Despite Trump’s promises on the 2016 campaign trail that he would support proposals allowing Medicare drug negotiations, the White House threatened to veto the House plan. They called it a plan to institute government “price controls,” and said it would limit access to medicine, a favored talking point of the pharmaceutical lobby.</p>
<p id="gnHPN4">Even without this veto threat, H.R.3 is expected to be dead-on-arrival in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown no interest in taking up the bill. It did, however, garner some small measure of bipartisan support — although Trump has thrown the weight of the White House against the bill, it did receive two House Republican votes in December.</p>
<p id="e95z9c">Instead, Trump has aligned himself more with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has advanced a narrower set of reforms from his perch as the Senate Finance Committee chair. (Grassley has also <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/18/grassley-says-mitch-mcconnell-sabotaged-support-for-his-drug-pricing-bill.html">accused</a> McConnell of sabotaging his bill, which moved out of Grassley’s committee with bipartisan support.)</p>
<p id="OmtO6u">His committee sent a bill to the full Senate in the fall, though it has languished there in the months since. It’s unclear if Trump’s quasi-endorsement — he did not call out Grassley’s bill directly Tuesday night, instead praising the senator generally for his individual work on the issue — will provide any new momentum for the plan. Grassley’s bill, as <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/usc-brookings-schaeffer-on-health-policy/2019/10/03/understanding-the-bipartisan-senate-finance-prescription-drug-reform-package/">the Brookings Institution documented</a>, achieves pricing reform through a mix of technical changes to the rebates that drug makers pay under Medicare and Medicaid as well as provisions to cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors.</p>
<p id="dDio6a">Right now, neither of the bills seems on a fast track to anywhere. Part of this is because Trump’s interest in drug pricing has been scattershot at best, and many Republicans are reluctant to place too many new regulations on an innovation industry.</p>
<p id="dY23oC">But, the president clearly knows health care is a vulnerability for him, which is why he devoted a few minutes to the topic at his State of the Union. <a href="http://files.kff.org/attachment/Topline-KFF-Health-Tracking-Poll-January-2020">Recent polling</a> by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed just 30 percent of Americans approved of his work on the issue. But with his administration firmly against the House Democratic bill, and no sign of movement in the Republican Senate, Trump’s rhetoric on Tuesday might end up being empty.</p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/5/21123917/state-of-the-union-democrats-chanting-hr3-billDylan Scott