Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Inside The State Of The Union: Republicans Chant 'U-S-A,' Democrats Sit Quietly For Most Of Speech
The New York Times: Trump Asks For Unity, But Presses Hard Line On Immigration
Republicans jumped to their feet at the president’s calls to curb immigration, limit late-term abortions and ensure that the United States does not turn to socialism, even chanting “U-S-A, U-S-A” a couple of times as if at a Trump campaign rally. “That sounds so good,” he exulted. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sitting behind Mr. Trump for the first time, and other Democrats largely remained in their seats without applauding and expressed only tepid enthusiasm even for his mention of goals intended to appeal to them, like infrastructure and paid parental leave. Ms. Pelosi maintained a polite, even amused smile on her face for much of the speech. But the evening was filled with political theater as the president introduced World War II veterans, Holocaust survivors, the Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a 10-year-old cancer survivor, a police officer shot seven times at last fall’s synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh and the teary-eyed relatives of a couple killed by an illegal immigrant, all sitting with the first lady, Melania Trump. (Baker, 2/5)
The Washington Post: In Dissonant State Of The Union Speech, Trump Seeks Unity While Depicting Ruin
Rare moments of joint applause came when Trump touted the bipartisan criminal justice law he signed in December, vowed to fight childhood cancer and committed to eliminating HIV in 10 years. Trump began and ended his 82-minute speech with a unifying tone that was in conflict with many of his own actions and statements, especially over the past month, one of the more contentious of his presidency. (Rucker and Olorunnipa, 2/5)
NPR: State Of The Union: 7 Takeaways From President Trump's Address
Each of the past three presidents had lost the House at some point during their presidency. And every one of them that came before Trump — Bill Clinton in 1995, George W. Bush in 2007 and Barack Obama in 2011 — nodded to that change. Not Trump. Instead, he barreled ahead with pitching his agenda. (Montanaro, 2/6)
Politico: Trump Calls For Unity — On His Terms
The Democrats in the audience — many of whom wore white, the color of the suffragettes, in protest of Trump — spent much of the speech on their hands, shaking their heads and even groaning aloud. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was caught sighing and rolling her eyes — and immediately pounced on the moment to raise money for her presidential campaign. (Restuccia and Caygle, 2/5)
The Washington Post: Fact-Checking President Trump’s 2019 State Of The Union Address
“Nearly 5 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps.” About 3.6 million people (not nearly 5 million) have stopped receiving food stamps since February 2017, according to the latest data. But experts say the improvement in the economy may not be the only reason for the decline. Several states have rolled back recession-era waivers that allowed some adults to keep their benefits for longer periods of time without employment. Reports have also suggested immigrant families with citizen children have dropped out of the program, fearing the administration’s immigration policies. Moreover, the number of people collecting benefits has been declining since fiscal 2014. (Kessler, Rizzo and Kelly, 2/5)
Bloomberg: State Of The Union 2019: Trump Yields No Ground To Dems In Speech
He offered no improvements to Obamacare, let alone assurances he won’t further weaken the law through regulation. He said nothing about a middle-class tax cut he abruptly proposed shortly before the midterm elections, then just as abruptly abandoned after Democrats took the House. ... He floated a handful of ambitious policy goals that would appeal to a broad swath of Americans: lowering prescription drug prices; ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S.; enacting paid family leave. (Taley and Niguette, 2/5)
