Trump State of the Union Speech a Triumph | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post, by David Kamioner, was originally published in Civitas's online edition.

    President Donald Trump, riding good news on several fronts, gave a masterful performance in front of both houses of Congress and other luminaries Tuesday night during his State of the Union address. He hit all the right notes of policy and emotion and was received well regardless of small Democratic attempts to disrupt his presentation.

    He ignored impeachment and focused on his past policy achievements and plans for his next term in office.

    His comms staff made sure the speech contained the kind of moments and lines that would force the Democrats to respond positively or look like partisan hacks. Most of them took the bait and stood and clapped on numerous occasions, especially the telegenic Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

    Trump was not daunted by the tired trope of unintelligibly shouting and chanting hard left Democratic female House members all dressed in white. Nor was his game affected by the sad little stunts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to pull off to distract the camera.

    High points of the evening were comprised of the president's recognition of audience members such as legitimate Venezuelan President Juan Guaido, Tuskegee Airman USAF Brigadier General Charles McGee, Philadelphia student Janiyah Davis and her mother, and Afghanistan hero U.S. Army SFC Townsend Williams. Williams was reunited with his wife and children, who were in attendance, during the event.

    Another powerful moment was the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, to conservative media titan Rush Limbaugh. After the president recognized Limbaugh for his talent and devotion to American values, the First Lady presented the award to the talk show host as he stood there in the audience.

    The ailing Limbaugh, who was just diagnosed with advanced fourth stage lung cancer, was visibly moved by the medal and the standing ovation he received by many members of Congress and other leaders.

    Other notable aspects included the presence of Brexit leader Nigel Farage, the wry smile of satisfaction between Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and the impotent ripping up of the president's speech by Nancy Pelosi after the SOTU had finished.

    The Democrats were once a great political party. They are now reduced to a socialist mob, ripping up sheets of paper after a speech as a forlorn gesture of opposition, such is what the president has done to them.

    That, along with the booming economy and the resurgent U.S. posture around the around, may be President Trump's greatest accomplishment.