Liberal pundits from MS NOW and CNN’s Abby Phillip compared President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union (SOTU) address to a game show, as host Jen Psaki argued there was a “circus entertainer” part of the president’s remarks in which he awarded medals to Americans.
“Trump decided to double down on things that are hugely unpopular. I mean, to your point, it was like a three-part speech. There was the gross violent pornography part of it. There was the circus entertainer part where he was bringing out unrelated people and vignettes. And then there was a part that was policy-ish,” the MS NOW host and former Biden press secretary said.
Trump delivered the longest SOTU speech in history on Tuesday, which included a handful of attention-grabbing moments that stole the show as the president touted a national “turnaround” in a speech heavily focused on the economy.
“I think stylistically, this speech really told us where the president is, which is that the way that he wants to see the country may not be where the country actually is, or where the country sees itself. But he utilized almost like these game show-type moments where you’re seeing awards being presented to really bring these moments of togetherness that otherwise might not have been there,” Phillip said on CNN.
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Phillip said the moments in which Trump honored different Americans were “skillfully done,” and argued he had to do it.
She added, “I actually thought it was very skillfully done. He awarded several Medals of Honor, Purple Hearts. He brought up the natural disaster in Texas. He had to do that because I think the rest of his message, I think is a hard pill for Americans to swallow.”
Trump awarded the Purple Heart to Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, a National Guardsman, and to the family of deceased Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who died after she and Wolfe were shot in D.C.
In addition, he spotlighted American military heroism, awarding the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover and U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams.
Claire McCaskill, a former Democratic senator and political analyst on MS NOW, also said the speech reminded her of a game show, after stating that many Democrats weren’t in attendance and therefore, ambassadors were able to sit in seats usually occupied by lawmakers.
“I noticed no one was there, I noticed that it felt like a game show, like I was thinking he’s going to say ‘Now look under your chair, you know, there’s something for you there,'” she said.
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MS NOW host Rachel Maddow also interjected and compared it to an “award show.”
McCaskill also said she thought the speech was very forgettable.
Symone Sanders Townsend, host of “The Weeknight” on MS NOW, said she saw a game show in the president handing out medals.
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“I heard a lot of lies, I heard a lot of bluster, and then I saw a game show,” Townsend said. “He was giving us — sorry Oprah — but he was giving us Oprah Winfrey, like: ‘You get a car! You get a car! You get a medal! You get a medal! You get a medal!'”
“And that is quite intentional, because the president — again, I’ve said before, I do not agree with him on much, but I will give credit where credit is due: he is a master marketer. And those moments where he was giving out Medals of Honor to heroes — our servicemen and women — who’s not going to clap for that? That’s going to be a viral moment. That’s going to go viral,” she continued.
Multiple print headlines also compared the evening to a game or variety show.
A Washington Post column headline read, “The thrills and chills of the State of the Union game show.” The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols wrote a piece titled, “President Trump’s State of the Union Variety Show.”
