Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, speaking immediately after President Joe Biden’s fourth State of the Union address late Thursday night, called the speech partisan and divisive.
“It’s really hard to understand the president when he’s yelling, mumbling, and speaking real fast,” Sullivan said. Sullivan said it was a bad practice to yell at Congress if Biden wants a good relationship with the legislative branch. Watch Sullivan’s immediate reaction to the speech — completely unscripted — here:
Before the State of the Union, Sullivan sent a video message: “56: That is the number of times this administration has chosen to side with Lower 48 extremists over Alaskans. Tonight, I hope President Biden announces a cease fire in his war against Alaskan working families. Unfortunately, that appears unlikely.”
Sullivan was right. Instead, Biden repeated his goal of cutting the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, heralding is as the “most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world.” It appears unlikely he can achieve that in six years.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski made brief official comments on the speech, calling it the most partisan political speech she had heard in years.
“He had lots of energy going on and I know that was part of the show, but I kind of felt it was a set up to be a campaign rally and I guess I’m enough of a traditionalist to not want to hear that level of politics injected into the State of the Union speech, so I was disappointed,” she told reporters.
Rep. Mary Peltola had no comment on the speech. Peltola, who wore a white kuspuk in solidarity with the Democrat women lawmakers in the House chambers who were dressed in their pro-abortion theme, pivoted from the spectacle of the incoherent president whom she endorses for reelection. On Friday morning she posted on X/Twitter a picture celebrating National Women’s Day through the lens of Native women.
Murkowski posted a selfie with Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Lindsey Graham.
