Shortly after the Tuesday night speech, Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro jumped on Twitter to dismiss Trump's brief play at bipartisanship, saying it took a backseat to the president's "division, chaos and false narratives."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, also a Democrat, was equally cutting. He decried the president for making a "phony border crisis" the centerpiece of his address.Despite a brief attempt at striking a bipartisan tone, the President instead painted a picture of division, chaos, and false narratives. Full statement on #SOTU ➡️ https://t.co/B9jU1FBay1 #OurHispanicSOTU pic.twitter.com/DNH4vN2ZCf
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) February 6, 2019
Meanwhile, freshman Republican Chip Roy offered up no take of his own. He did, however, retweet Liz Cheney's finger wagging at Democrats for not clapping enough for the prez.The centerpiece of this speech was fear about a phony border crisis.
— Lloyd Doggett (@RepLloydDoggett) February 6, 2019
There's no path forward to avoid more chaos.
It is less important how Trump reads a telemprompter one night of the year than the other 364 days of Twitter-fueled mayhem that threaten our union. #SOTU
Republican Rep. Will Hurd, who's sometimes called out Trump for his draconian immigration policies, didn't tweet about the speech, nor did his press office release a reaction statement.This was demonstrably and troublingly true. https://t.co/Dd2LFeoMRx
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) February 6, 2019
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat, only tweeted a photo of himself with his guest for the event, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. (Although the inclusion of Trump nemesis House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the shot may provide a hint where the middle-of-the-road Cuellar actually stands.)
Indeed, in a subsequent Business Insider interview, Cuellar offered Trump no gold star for his attempt at bipartisanship.It was a pleasure to have the San Antonio Mayor @Ron_Nirenberg as my guest tonight for the #SOTU. Mayor Nirenberg has been a dedicated public servant and I thank him for joining me at this annual address. pic.twitter.com/2Tkg6RFYrk
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) February 6, 2019
"He kept saying 'dangerous, dangerous.' If you look at all the FBI statistics, the border is a lot safer," Cuellar said. "In fact, my hometown of Laredo is about four or five times safer than Washington, DC. But again, the president is playing to his base."
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