Last night marked a momentous occasion: President Obama’s final State of the Union address. As it always goes with the spectacle of American politics, Twitter was there to see us through. Here are the best highlights from the social media channel.
As President Obama prepared to get underway, he started his speech with a few of his trademark quips, promising to keep it short …
.@POTUS: "I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa." #SOTUhttps://t.co/gpdYYA3bEcpic.twitter.com/lHYT8e8kwC
— PBS News (@NewsHour) January 13, 2016
… and landing a well-timed barb directed at the two senators in the audience who are currenly campaigning: Bernie Sanders and Marco Rubio. Twitter noticed immediately.
Obama's highest scoring line with Republicans in my #SOTU focus group?
"I'm gonna try to keep this short." 📈
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 13, 2016
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After introducing the prez, newly instated House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to be having a deep internal struggle for the rest of the night, providing rich fodder for the rest of us. You guys, there were so many jokes about Ryan and his facial paralysis. So. Many. Jokes.
The #SOTU is more fun to watch if you imagine Paul Ryan's smugness is actually him trying not to laugh as Biden tries to play footsie w him.
— stephanie mcmaster (@Smethanie) January 13, 2016
"Would you fellows like a Bloody Mary?"
Biden: "Yah! Spicy as hell!"
Ryan:"Just tomato juice please."@andreagrimeshttps://t.co/OaoYI9SwQW— Buffy's Blog (@BuffyBlogs) January 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/tressiemcphd/status/687096681461067776
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And it just wouldn’t be a presidential address without some commentary on good ol’ Uncle Joe:
https://twitter.com/fatimaaxo/status/687101339629948928
People just couldn’t help but notice that some folks didn’t get up during the evening’s many standing ovations:
https://twitter.com/rgay/status/687098319403892736
The fact that people were audibly disagreeing with the President saying "hey we should end gerrymandering" says a lot about Congress #SOTU
— Jesse Cox (@JesseCox) January 13, 2016
Dems getting a workout. Repubs in danger of deep vein thrombosis. #SOTU
— My Kojak Son (@j_catfish71) January 13, 2016
Apparently, Kim Davis made an appearance:
Maybe there will be magic in the air and traditional Christian marriage proponent Kim Davis will meet her 5th husband at the #SOTU tonight.
— Mike Polk Jr. (@mikepolkjr) January 13, 2016
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There was tons of love for some of the comments Obama made about everything from climate change to health care to the changing political climate. A few people chimed in with some “amens” or pointed out some overlooked points:
.@POTUS is right: Progress isn't inevitable. We have a choice between pushing forward—or undoing all the work we've done. #SOTU
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/andreagrimes/status/687109700077228033
After Obama said ask Osama Bin Laden #SOTUpic.twitter.com/qfQ96DapJm
— Travon Free (@Travon) January 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/rgay/status/687097899927400448
https://twitter.com/SaraJBenincasa/status/687101251905961985
As always, the evening culminated with a rebuttal, this time from North Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and people chimed in on that.
Nikki Haley is just angry that Obamacare doesn't cover TMJ. #SOTU
— BenZelevansky.bsky.social (@BenZelevansky) January 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/687114311819378688
All in all, a pretty good showing, though the president probably could have abbreviated the entire thing pretty easily:
If Obama really wanted a shorter speech, he would’ve just tweeted this gif, dropped a mic, & walked off. #SOTUpic.twitter.com/861LCeqqUV
— Rebecca Eisenberg 🥯 (@ryeisenberg) January 13, 2016
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