Not the Headlines! Extra--SOTU Rebuttal asks three easy questions

SPEAKER_02 0:00

The listening to presents Not the Headlines Extra.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

I always enjoy watching the opposing party rebuttal to the President's State of the Union address. I'm always amused or surprised by how unrelated the rebuttal is to the speech. Sometimes it seems like the person making the rebuttal had no idea what was even said in the speech. And they usually don't. There was a time when the opposing party tried to make it look like they at least anticipated what the president might say. These so-called rebuttals are nothing more than speeches about what's wrong with America without addressing why or who's responsible, or for how long the problem has persisted, or to what unique conditions. Today's speeches employ misdirection and platitudes. This year's rebuttal made me wonder if maybe the White House got a copy of it before the President delivered his State of the Union speech. The Governor of Virginia, Spanberger, newly elected and sworn in, was the person who delivered this year's rebuttal. She wanted to boil it down to three questions. Here's the first one.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

So let's speak plainly and honestly. And let me ask you, the American people watching at home, three questions. Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family?

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Now, if you watched the president speak, you know that he covered this area quite thoroughly. Here are some samples. I edited out some of the lengthy applause.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Last year I urged this Congress to begin the mission by passing the largest tax cuts in American history, and our Republican majorities delivered so beautifully. Thank you, Republicans. All Democrats, every single one of them, voted against these really important and very necessary massive tax cuts. They wanted large-scale tax increases to hurt the people instead. But we held strong, and with the great, big, beautiful bill, we gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great city. And we also made interest on auto loans tax deductible the first time, but only if the car is made in America.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Well, that's a pretty good answer to the question. Unfortunately for the governor of Virginia, she didn't know he'd have such a good answer even before she asked the question. What we do know is that now that she is the governor of Virginia, many Democrat lawmakers are hoping to be able to raise taxes on the people of Virginia. We'll see if she supports those bills. But before she heard the president's answer, she doubled down and asked the question again.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

So I'll ask again. Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? We all know the answer is no.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

And the president had more to say about it.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

American oil production is up by more than 600,000 barrels a day, and we just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil. American natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill. More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. Think about that. Any time in the history of our country, more working today, and 100% of all jobs created under my administration have been in the private sector. We cut a record number of job-killing regulations, and in one year we have lifted 2.4 million Americans, a record off of food stamps. And for all of these reasons, I say tonight, members of Congress, the state of our union is strong.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

But he wasn't done there.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Under my just enacted most favored nation agreements, Americans who have for decades paid by far the highest prices of any nation anywhere in the world for prescription drugs will now pay the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs. Anywhere, the lowest price. So in my first year of the second term, should be my third term, but strange things happen. That's a big achievement. The result is price differences of 300, 400, 500, 600%, and more, all available right now at a new website called Trumprx.gov. And I didn't name that one either, by the way. There are policies created, the high prices. Our policies are rapidly ending them. We are doing really well. Those prices are plummeting downward. The price of eggs is down 60%, Madam Secretary. Thank you. The cost of chicken, butter, fruit, hotels, automobiles, rent is lower today than when I took office by a lot. And even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly. Just hold on a little while. We're getting it down. And soon you will see numbers that few people would think were possible to achieve just a short time ago. Nobody can believe when they see the kind of numbers, especially energy, when they see energy going down to numbers like that, they cannot believe it. It's like another big tax cut. I'm also confronting one of the biggest ripoffs of our times, the crushing costs of health care caused by you since the passage of the Unaffordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, big insurance company has gotten rich. It was meant for the insurance companies, not for the people. With our government giving them hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars a year as their stock prices soared, 1,1200, 1,400, and even 1,700%. Like nothing else. That's why I introduced the great health care plan. I want to stop all payments to big insurance companies and instead give that money directly to the people so they can buy their own health care, which will be better health care at a much lower cost.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

The second question was Is the president working to keep Americans safe both at home and abroad?

SPEAKER_00 8:11

The answer had already been spoken.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Many of the most illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location. That's why tonight I'm calling on Congress to pass what we will call the Delilah Law, barring any state from granting commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Is the president working for you?

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Ironically, the president had already made it clear who was working for the American people and who isn't when he posed a simple question of his own.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

As we speak, Democrats in this chamber have cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security. It's all cut off. It's all cut off. They have instituted another Democrat shutdown, the first one costing us two points on GDP. Two points we lost on GDP, which probably made them quite happy actually. Now they have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murders. Tonight I'm demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for the border security, homeland security of the United States, and also for helping people clean up their snow. We have no money because of the Democrats, and it would be nice. I'd love to give you a hand and clean it up, but you gave no money. Nobody's getting paid. It's a shame. So you have to think about it. We have, in case you didn't know, pretty large snowstorm out there. One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe. So tonight I'm inviting every legislature to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

A truly shameful display by the far left of the Democrat Party. I'm not sure how anyone could ever vote for any of those people again. They literally show the American public that they don't represent the people who put them in office.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

That is why I'm also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens, in many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country. They're blocking the removal of these people out of our country, and you should be ashamed of these people.