The Republican reaction to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday took on many forms, from outbursts among members in the House chamber to live social media posts from former President Donald Trump, to the GOP official response delivered by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Characterizing the differences between Republicans and Democrats as both “normal and crazy,” Sanders spoke about “culture war” issues championed by conservatives in recent years.
“I am the first woman to lead my state, and he’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is,” Sanders said. She also spoke about Republican efforts to ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools.
“Americans want common sense from their leaders, but in Washington, the Biden administration is doubling down on crazy,” she said.
Sanders served as press secretary in the White House under Trump and was recently sworn in as governor of Arkansas. Not everything she said was in disagreement with Biden — both called for improving the nation’s K-12 schools, particularly by increasing teachers’ salaries.
But Sanders mostly focused on her differences with Biden, including over the border, on how to fight crime and the drug epidemic, and over standing up to foreign adversaries. “President Biden is unwilling to defend our border, defend our skies and defend our people. He is simply unfit to serve as commander and chief,” Sanders said.
At 40 years old, Sanders is the youngest governor in the country and is half the age of Biden, who is 80. Throughout her speech she drew attention to their age difference, saying “it’s time for a new generation to lead.”
“A new generation of Republican leaders are stepping up not to be caretakers of the status quo, but to be change-makers for the American people,” she said.
Reaction by Trump and other Republicans
Throughout Biden’s address, Trump posted live reactions on his social media platform Truth Social. “He’s using my ‘Forgotten Men and Women,’ without saying they have been Forgotten by the Democrats, and helped by the Republicans and me!” Trump said.
Trump also claimed Biden took credit for his accomplishments.
“I’m the one that did the great job on Insulin pricing,” he posted, adding later, “I’m the one that put us on the 10-year program for AIDS too.”
Many Republican officeholders were critical of Biden’s speech. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said it was “divisive, angry, out-of-touch, dishonest” and that it reminded him of a man yelling, “Kids, get off my lawn!”
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley took issue with Biden over policy differences. “Biden says he will fight for blue-collar workers,” Hawley said, “and then shuts down our pipelines, regulates our farms out of existence and tells everybody to buy electric cars.”
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is expected to announce her campaign for president next week, took issue with Biden’s economic strategy and for not “holding Beijing accountable.”
She also praised Sanders for a “powerful rebuttal” and called for a “new generation of leadership.”