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CHARLIE SYKES: The GOP Keeps It Classy
JVL: The State of the Union Was a Preview of 2024 for Both Biden and Republicans 🔐
JUST BETWEEN US🎧: How is George Santos like O.J.? 🔐
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AMANDA CARPENTER: America, According to Joe.
Going into this year’s State of the Union address, everyone had a reason to hate on Joe Biden. Primarily, because he’s old.
The Associated Press greeted him before his speech with a poll informing him that most Democrats thought one Biden term was enough. The New York Times let him know his approval ratings were among the worst for a second-year president.
Biden said phooey to all that and delivered a strong defense of his first term and argument for a second term. And, it boiled down to this: economy, economy, economy. Oh, it was a little raucous, too.
Biden’s shrewd State of the Union address played rope-a-dope with Republicans, and he relished the scrum. Plus, Trump goes classic and pulls the groomer card on DeSantis. A.B. Stoddard joins Charlie Sykes on today’s podcast.
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CATHY YOUNG: No, Elon, the U.S. Didn’t Scuttle a Ukraine Peace Deal.
As the anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion nears, the narrative blaming Western leaders for the war’s continuation got a seeming boost from former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, much to the excitement of the horseshoe-shaped Kremlin appeasement lobby on the nominal left and right.
A nearly five-hour interview Bennett gave to Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum, posted on the former prime minister’s YouTube page on February 4, promptly gave rise to an incendiary claim from Aaron Maté, a vocal Twitter critic of international support for Ukraine…
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Wednesday! Turns out my prediction that the SOTU would be forgettable was, quite wrong! I was right about one thing, though: Sarah Huckabee Sanders bombed and joined the ranks of the SOTU Responder Cursed (depicted above.) Can you name all the 16 responders?
Last night, my colleague Joe Perticone was right here:
And that’s thanks to you readers who are members of Bulwark+. Here were some of his observations from inside the chamber, and here he is with Sen. Romney as he describes his interactions with George Santos.
Biden wasn’t lying! He was referring to Rick Scott’s proposal to sunset entitlement programs, and Sen. Mike Lee got all huffy. But Mike Lee has some thoughts on the future of those programs, and let’s just say his acting skills need some work.
Speaking of the Huckabees… Did you know he has a series of books to indoctrinate kids?
Is this censorship?!?! Kidding, but Twitter introduces tweet limits! Elon Musk told me to go home! Is this how they plan on making Twitter Blue work? Good luck with that. I sent 22 tweets today, perhaps it’s a bug. Or Elon forgot to pay the server bill. What a genius. But you can pay to tweet more words.
“Everybody worked the refs….” While House Republicans are making a big deal about “The Twitter Files”, we’re finding out that Republican lawmakers and their staff routinely asked Twitter to censor content.
They don’t make ‘em like they used to… Lord Michael Heseltine is the last of a dying breed. Reminds me a bit of the late John Warner in his last years.
Congrats LeBron, the GOAT… Who made history last night. I still think back to my senior year of HS, when he was a junior, and I saw him in the stands at the state championship match and scoffed in my head: This kid is going straight to the NBA? How wrong was I! Make sure you read Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s reaction and see the shot.
Children learn how to cope… With the dark realities of war. As I type this, my twins are home from school, enjoying PBS and some dinner. The toughest reality my girls experienced was asking me if little kids died in Turkey due to the earthquake. War? It’s hard not to get teary just thinking about the war in Ukraine.
There is no bottom. Tina Peters, who is facing election tampering charges, has added murder conspiracy theories to her defense.
Online sleuthing… Leads to another January 6 arrest, of a guy on bail for attempted murder. Only the best insurrectionists, right?
The snack cake economy… What Nico Walker learned in prison.
Have we heard the last of James O’Keefe? He’s on paid leave from Project Veritas.
That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
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