Donald Trump boasted about the popularity of his State of the Union address shortly after making it — and not without good reason. Polls showed that his address was well-received by Americans, with as many as 82 percent Independents approving his message. Trump cited the results of the YouGov poll on Twitter as an example of his popularity cutting across party lines.
In the speech, Trump extolled the virtues of the American people who had elected a record number of women to Congress. More significantly, he called for “unity” during a difficult time in America’s history, as reported by the Telegraph .
“We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction,” he said.
“Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country. Embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good.”
He also touted the “economic miracle” taking place in America during his tenure, before asking leaders to support his push for border security in a bipartisan manner. Most of his speech was well-received — one moment even eliciting standing applause from female Democrats — leading Trump to claim that Americans saw him as a great unifier.
But as noted by ex-Obama campaign adviser Patti Solis Doyle, any surge Trump might have had in his popularity due to the SOTU speech was short-lived because of his relentless Twitter habit. Speaking to CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Doyle said one speech doesn’t make Trump a great unifier.
“I think one speech does not make President Trump a unifier,” she said.
Although she acknowledged Trump had a surge in his approval ratings following the speech, she said it wouldn’t last thanks to his Twitter obsession.
“But it will wane almost immediately after his first tweet,” she added.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2019
According to Salon , even before making the State of the Union address, Trump launched into a Twitter tirade disparaging Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and deceased Republican John McCain. Later, Schumer responded by saying that Trump’s speech was an example of his contradictory stances, per Inquisitr .
“It’s sort of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the excitement and the enthusiasm was all in the Mr. Hyde parts,” he said.
As reported by the Inquisitr , Trump also called House Democrat Adam Schiff a “political hack” after Schiff had claimed that his House Intelligence Committee will open an investigation into any discrepancies into Trump’s financial ties.
Trump’s attacks on Democrats soon after calling for “unity” betrayed his real intention, according to ex-Obama campaign adviser Patti Solis Doyle, and she could be right when she says the president has himself to blame if his approval ratings sink after the brief SOTU surge.
“I don’t know if the President understood that the reason we elected so many women to Congress this midterm election is because women rose up against this President,” says @PattiSolisDoyle .
“All of those new elected Congresswomen really was almost a repudiation of the President” pic.twitter.com/6BGFJKOIFo
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) February 6, 2019
