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Tara Setmayer: Trump's empty rhetoric

In his last State of the Union address, in 1963, John F. Kennedy said, "For 175 years, we have sailed with...the tides of human freedom in our favor. We steer our ship with hope, as Thomas Jefferson said, 'leaving fear astern."

Donald Trump's entire political existence, on the other hand, both as a candidate and now as President, has been fueled by appealing to voters' fears instead of civic virtue. Trump's State of the Union Tuesday was no different.

Delivered under the shadow of impeachment but on the verge of a Senate acquittal, Trump chose to venture down the path of division once again. Amid his highly partisan rhetoric on a range of issues, Trump substituted a reality-show spectacle for what is usually the most impactful portion of the State of the Union: the introduction of honored guests in the First Lady's box. As touching as each story was, there was an inescapable sense of pandering to certain voting blocs -- Pennsylvania and Florida on issues of school choice and criminal justice reform for minorities, Latinos on both Cuba and Venezuela policy -- that couldn't be ignored.

He used patriots as props, exploiting emotions for electoral appeal. Let's not forget, this is the same man who a New York judge ordered to pay $2 million to settle claims that the Trump Foundation misused charity funds intended for veteran's groups (Trump accused the New York attorney general whose office filed the case of "mischaracterizing" the settlement). This is also a man who insulted war heroes, verbally attacked Gold Star families and dismissed recent traumatic brain injuries suffered by troops during the recent Iranian rocket attack in Iraq as mere "headaches." Yet, all it seems to take is a bit of reality-show stagecraft for Trump supporters to give him a pass and shower him with praise.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats will be criticized for not clapping during moments that seemed naturally worthy of applause. But I understand their reticence. Trump's gestures of goodwill came across as contrived, made-for-TV political choreography and empty rhetoric. He's turned the State of our Union into a reality-show preview of what's to come during this election cycle. It's certainly a far cry from most presidents', including Kennedy's, hopeful vision for America.

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Posted by Erin Burnett to Rush Limbaugh at February 5, 2020 at 1:41 PM