The 2020 State of the Union Address Synthesized

Millions of Americans and global citizens tuned in last night to view one of the most important speeches the Leader of the Free World will give in 2020, at least before his impeachment trial comes to a close. In true Trump style, the address was full of inflammatory language, fear mongering, and otherness created by his rhetoric. Many of the statements he made were only half truths, or completely false all together. Below are some of the most stand-out, rip-up-worthy bits from his speech with context to either prove or disprove his mania.

“I am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been.”

Still holding on to the notion that he can “make America great again”, Trump makes this large claim. According to the Washington Post the unemployment rate reached a low of 3.5 percent under Trump, but it was as low as 2.5 percent in 1953. Trump has never achieved an annual growth rate above 3 percent, but in 1997, 1998 and 1999, the gross domestic product grew 4.5 percent, 4.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. But even that period paled against the 1950s and 1960s. Growth between 1962 and 1966 ranged from 4.4 percent to 6.6 percent. In 1950 and 1951, it was 8.7 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

“With the tremendous progress we have made over the past three years, America is now energy independent.”

We all wish this were true, don’t we? The fact is that the United States continues to import millions of barrels of petroleum per day, 9.94 million to be exact according to an Energy Information Agency report. With the amount of energy consumption that occurs daily in the United States, we currently do not have the infrastructure to be even close to energy independent.

“Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far.”

The idea that the energy revolution began under the Trump administration is completely false. Since 2009 the US has been the leader in natural gas production, while crude oil has been increasing steadily and rapidly since 2010 and was the top producer in 2013 passing Saudi Arabia and Russia. If there is any credit for starting the clean energy revolution, it must be given to the Obama administration.

All this being said, during the address there were other claims made that were true, but nothing as grandiose as these. He also decided to thank many members of the public for their losses of loved ones during our war in the Middle East. This humanized him, and for a moment there was a hush over the room while he gave his condolences. This was indeed in stark contrast to the roars of applause coming from the Republicans whenever he made a (false) claim. Of course the highlight of the evening was after the speech had ended and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, made an iconic move of tearing the copy of her speech in half. This moment is one for the history books.

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