Former President Donald Trump kept a running play-by-play of the State of the Union address Thursday night, offering his own takes on President Joe Biden‘s address to Congress.
Trump, who often gets fact-checked in real time himself, did the same to Biden, slamming him over statements related to immigration, his indictments, and other issues.
‘VERY DISRESPECTFUL’
Trump’s posts began before Biden even started speaking. Noting that the address was scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern but still hadn’t started at 9:20, Trump wrote, “THEY ARE REALLY LATE, VERY DISRESPECTFUL TO OUR COUNTRY!”
Unfortunately for Trump, his Truth Social network was beset with technical problems when the speech finally began at 9:25, leaving the site down for portions of Biden’s address.
‘Putin … has no respect for Biden’
Biden mentioned the war in Ukraine at the start of his remarks, saying it was important to continue fighting Russia and its dictator president, Vladimir Putin. He then took a shot at Trump without naming him.
“Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, ‘Do whatever the hell you want,’” Biden said.
The remark referred to a threat Trump made to NATO nations that were not paying agreed-upon military expenditure minimums to be a member of the alliance. Trump issued his own take shortly after.
“Putin only invaded Ukraine, because he has no respect for Biden,” he wrote in one post. “Would have never happened under the Trump Administration, and for four years it didn’t happen!”
In a second post, Trump said, “No, I said NATO has to pay its bills, and if it doesn’t pay its bills, we are not going to protect you. THE MONEY CAME POURING IN! Under other Presidents, NATO was BROKE.”
‘We are stronger on IVF than the Democrats’
One of Biden’s invited guests was Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama, who has a 14-month-old thanks to in vitro fertilization.
“She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade,” Biden said.
Trump couldn’t let that go untouched.
“IVF was just approved in Alabama, and the Republicans are totally in support of helping women,” Trump wrote. “We are stronger on IVF than the Democrats!”
‘YOU’RE WELCOME JOE’
When Biden mentioned moving beyond the pandemic, he prominently noted the vaccines rolled out early in his tenure.
“The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer,” Biden said. “Turning setback into comeback. That’s America!”
Though the vaccines have attracted a measure of controversy in recent years, Trump was sure to remind Biden who helped create them.
“YOU’RE WELCOME, JOE, NINE MONTH APPROVAL TIME VS. 12 YEARS THAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU!” he wrote.
Staying on the topic of healthcare, Trump speculated that Biden’s “drugs are wearing off” and noted his bouts of coughing.
“DON’T SHAKE PEOPLE’S HANDS GOING OUT – HE KEEPS COUGHING INTO HIS RIGHT HAND!” read one post.
‘His Border Bill is a Disaster’
The president touted the benefits of a border deal that failed in Congress, saying it would help secure the border and accusing Republicans of tanking it only to preserve the issue for Trump’s campaign. He also mentioned University of Georgia student Laken Riley, mistakenly calling her Lincoln Riley, and said she was murdered “by an illegal.”
Trump responded with a series of Truths attacking the bill.
“His Border Bill is a Disaster, it would let at least 5,000 Migrants in a day, and that is one of the better aspects of it!” Trump wrote.
He followed that up with a graphic.
‘JOE BIDEN IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY’
Toward the end of his remarks, Biden contrasted his vision with that of Trump.
“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” Biden said. “A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
Trump implied that he had it backward.
“JOE BIDEN IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY! HE WEAPONIZED GOVERNMENT AGAINST HIS OPPONENT – DIDN’T TALK ABOUT THAT, NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!” he wrote.
He then summed it all up with a final take.
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“That may be the Angriest, Least Compassionate, and Worst State of the Union Speech ever made. It was an Embarrassment to our Country!” Trump said.
Trump and Biden are set for a rematch in November, with their respective primary opponents, Nikki Haley and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), dropping out after Super Tuesday.