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Today we focus our attention on the State of the Union address last night, including President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, and the Democratic Party’s response given by Stacey Abrams.
To discuss their thoughts on the SOTU, we check in with Steffen Schmidt, Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University, and with Val Endress, Professor of Communications at Rhode Island College.
Among other things, we discussed the President’s improved demeanor (sticking to his script, perhaps more “presidential”) but, regarding content, his continued false statements and appeal to the darker side of his base’s emotions. We also noted Trump’s failure to say anything about pressing issues like climate change or about the government shutdown with its devastating impact on ordinary, dedicated government employees (not to mention on the U.S. economy).
We contrasted President Trump’s address with the Democratic response, given by Stacey Abrams. Smart yet down-to-earth, passionate but not preachy, she exuded authenticity and compassion. Just as she inspired us, we foresaw her potential future candidacy as one to which many every-day Americans will be able to relate.
