Trump SOTU victory lap on booming economy was smart – and Debbie Downer Democrats don't know what to do
It was a virtuoso performance by Trump
Maybe the most remarkable thing about President Trump's remarkable State of the Union speech on Tuesday night was the behavior and body language of the congressional Democrats.
Every piece of good to great economic news he delivered was greeted with scoffs, scowls or stone-faced, sour-puss silence. They sat on their hands and seemed almost wounded by the litany of amazingly bullish statistics on the economy.
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This is a joyless Democratic Party whose deep-rooted loathing of the president -- was on display throughout the impeachment charade -- has clouded their judgment, even when acting in their own political self-interest.
Let's just say this was not a class act.
I'm often asked if Democrats are rooting against the economy, I wouldn’t go that far, but what is for sure is that on Tuesday night they certainly weren't rooting for it.
Even Trump's celebration of minority economic progress – we’re at the lowest unemployment rate in half a century and largest wage gains in 20 years -- couldn't draw more than paltry applause from members of Congress representing these communities.
A highlight of the evening was when Trump declared that every low-income minority child should have the opportunity to opt out of the "government schools" and choose a school where they can learn and feel safe.
Democrats visibly bristled at the idea -- perhaps because this is a party that always seems to put teachers unions over kids.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi looked so miserable all night that one might have thought she was ill with the flu – or something worse. The speaker's ultimate act of defiance was ripping the text of the speech - it was her version of a primal scream. But even Pelosi was forced to signal to her young and rebellious "progressive" colleagues to stop acting up during the speech, as some even stormed out of the chamber. She was like a nun waving a ruler at a bunch of unruly fourth graders.
Yes, Republicans got unruly and sometimes disrespectful when President Obama gave his State of the Union addresses and Americans didn't like it. You'd think Democrats would have learned from the GOP's mistakes.
After the speech was over, Democrats rushed to the cameras and moaned about income inequality, drug prices, climate change, and income inequality -- as they railed stormed against the rich.
What country were they talking about? Income inequality is falling and drug prices have stabilized while middle-class incomes are up $4,500.
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Negativity -- especially a false narrative of negativity -- doesn't sell in America. Democrats on the presidential campaign trail don't talk about growth -- at all. They talk of despair and hopelessness. They don't talk of creating wealth, but redistributing it.
The contrast today is sharp. Taking a page out of Ronald Reagan’s playbook, Trump presented his own inspiring and upbeat image of "morning in America." Democrats see America spiraling into despair and decline.
It was a virtuoso performance by Trump, but he did miss one financial issue of major concern to America: the budget deficit and national debt.
Trump laid out billions of dollars of new spending programs for parental leave, child care, a mission to Mars, new education spending, and health care expansion while promising not to reform major entitlements.
Let's just say that there was no Bill Clinton declaration that "the era of big government is over."
Beware: the GOP's total disregard for fiscal responsibility may come back to haunt Republicans in the years ahead.
But Trump had every right to take a victory lap on the economy. This is a broad-based prosperity that is lifting nearly all boats.
Democrats sound and act as though they are hoping the ships will sink. Who wants them to be the captains?
Stephen Moore is an economic consultant with FreedomWorks and served as an economic advisor to Donald Trump in 2016.