memeorandum: Official GOP Response to SOTU Has Republicans ‘Losing It’ (Jake Lahut/The Daily Beast)

2:30 PM ET, March 8, 2024

Top Items:

Republican Katie Britt Ruthlessly Mocked for SOTU Response — Alabama Senator Katie Britt on Thursday faced widespread backlash after delivering the Republican Party's response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address. — Many users on X, formerly Twitter …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, Axios and IJR

Jake Lahut / The Daily Beast:

Official GOP Response to SOTU Has Republicans ‘Losing It’ — Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama gave the GOP response to President Biden's annual address—which got panned by some in her own party. — As President Joe Biden mingled on the House floor following his State of the Union address Thursday night …

Discussion: The Status Kuo, The Daily Beast, The Bulwark, The Guardian, Business Insider, Digby's Hullabaloo, New Republic, New York Daily News, Raw Story, PBS NewsHour, RADAR, The Wrap, Mediaite, HuffPost, DNyuz and al.com

Michael Tomasky / New Republic:

Forget Biden's SOTU Performance, and Focus on Tiny, Weak Mike Johnson — Joe Biden more than made it through Thursday night's State of the Union address. That moment that his supporters always fear—the major brain fart, the confusing of Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi (oh wait, that was someone else)—never came.

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, RedState, Wonkette, HuffPost, Raw Story, Twitchy, The Hill, Washington Monthly and Axios

Monica Hesse / Washington Post:

A lot of moms can't see themselves in Katie Britt's kitchen — The Alabama senator's performance seemed aimed at suburban women whom Republicans have done little to win back — Before Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-Ala.) had even begun her State of the Union rebuttal on Thursday night …

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, Alabama Political Reporter and Althouse

Rolling Stone:

‘What the Hell Am I Watching’: Republicans Torch Their Own SOTU Rebuttal — Alabama Sen. Katie Britt was panned after delivering the most bizarre State of the Union rebuttal in recent memory — THE RITUAL SURROUNDING the annual State of the Union is never complete until the president's opposition …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, MSNBC, New York Post, The Mahablog, Mediaite, Boston.com, The Daily Caller, ABC7, El País, NPR, New Jersey Online, MeidasTouch, PoliticusUSA, Crooks and Liars, CNN, RedState, HuffPost, The Wrap and The Hill

Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:

The Smart Political Strategy Behind Biden's Big Speech — Last night was a very good night for Joe Biden. The President delivered a vigorous, pugilistic speech with the highest possible stakes for his presidency. He was strong and in command. Most importantly, he made his best case yet for reelection.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Mediaite, Fox News, New Republic, Outside the Beltway, Newsbusters, The Hill, DNyuz and The Atlantic

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

Democrat demands apology from Van Orden after SOTU outburst — Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) is demanding an apology from his fellow Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) following Van Orden's outburst at Thursday's State of the Union address. — The outburst came as Biden spoke critically …

Discussion: Mediaite

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

Media Falls In Love All Over Again With ‘Feisty,’ ‘Fiery’ Biden — In today's Amiable Skeptics episode, which will go up early this afternoon but was taped later in the day yesterday, Adam Baldwin and I briefly discussed the upcoming State of the Union speech.

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, Semafor, acecomments.mu.nu, Punchbowl News, Power Line, Twitchy, Instapundit, RedState, News/Talk 94.9 WSJM, Roll Call, WBRZ and NBC News

William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:

Disaster for Trump as Truth Social Crashes at Critical SOTU Moment — The former president heavily promoted his live reactions prior to President Joe Biden's SOTU speech. But when it came time, Trump's promises crashed and burned. — Donald Trump may have rage-posted …

Discussion: New York Times, NBC News, Raw Story, Blue Virginia, USA Today, BizPac Review, The Message Box, DNyuz, HuffPost, Washington Examiner and RedState

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

What Biden's SOTU ad-libs say about his politics — and his preparedness — President Biden came into Thursday night's State of the Union address amid remarkably low expectations about his performance. The right-wing media universe has been focused for months on his age …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Adela Suliman / Washington Post:

Biden chatted for so long after State of the Union, the lights went down — President Biden didn't seem to want State of the Union night to end. — Biden took about 35 minutes between finishing his speech and exiting the House chamber — shaking hands, chatting with members of Congress …

Discussion: The Hill, The Atlantic, NPR, Magnolia Tribune and Raw Story

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:

Biden. Can. Win. — Believe. — ∙ Paid — Before we get started: Sarah and I taped a banger of a Secret Podcast this morning and I pushed it out early. You can catch it here. Trigger warning: Johnny from Jersey is insufferable. — Join — 1. Brandon — Were you surprised?

James Bickerton / Newsweek:

Republicans Complain Joe Biden Had Too Much Energy at SOTU — A number of conservative commentators hit out at President Biden, suggesting that his State of the Union address in the House on Thursday was too aggressive or energetic. Fox News host Sean Hannity branded Biden “very angry” …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Business Insider, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Gizmodo, Washington Examiner, Frontpage Mag, NPR, The Guardian and National Review

Brian Beutler / Off Message:
The First Part Of Joe Biden's Speech Was SO Important

Discussion: Newsmax, NBC News, HuffPost, Mother Jones, Mark It Down!, The Daily Beast, DNyuz, Fox News, Breitbart and Associated Press

Washington Post:
As House Republicans heckle, Biden serves it back

Discussion: USA Today, The Nation, Washington Examiner, Digby's Hullabaloo, Axios, American Greatness and The Texas Tribune

New York Times:
Katie Britt, With a Smile and a Fierce Glare, Delivers G.O.P. Response to Biden

Discussion: The Hill, HotAir, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, al.com, Raw Story, The Spectator World, Fox News, PolitiFact, ABC News, New Jersey Online, The States, National Review, DNyuz and Democrats

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Majority of Americans watching Biden's SOTU speech had positive response: CNN poll

Discussion: CNN, Washington Times, Mediaite, Navigator, Trending Politics Conservative and Mock Paper Scissors

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Biden electrifies Democrats, spars with Republicans in fiery State of the Union address

Matthew Xiao / Washington Free Beacon:
Democrats Chide Biden for Saying ‘Illegal’ Instead of ‘Undocumented’

Discussion: The Federalist, The Guardian, Breitbart, Blaze Media, New York Post, RedState, National Review, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Fox News, WAGA-TV, HuffPost and ABC News

Rebecca Downs / Townhall:
Biden Had Even More Terrible Things to Say on Immigration After He Sort of Said Laken Riley's Name

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Twitchy, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and Washington Free Beacon

The White House:
Remarks of President Joe Biden — State of the Union Address As Prepared for Delivery

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Magazine, The Hill, New York Times, Roll Call, Crooks and Liars, CNN, Digby's Hullabaloo, Slate, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, DCReport.org, DNyuz, Breitbart and Reason

Daniel Greenfield / Frontpage Mag:
Biden Uses State of the Union to Threaten Civil War

Discussion: DNyuz, The Wrap and Washington Post

Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
Truth Social Suffers Outage in Middle of Trump's Furious Live-Tweeting About Biden Speech

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Raw Story and Axios

Washington Post:
Biden delivers State of the Union with fiery political tone

Discussion: Vox, Mediaite, New York Times, The Hill and Glenn Beck

Sam Brodey / The Daily Beast:
Marjorie Taylor Greene Breaks House Rules to Wear MAGA Hat at State of the Union

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:

Trump posts $91M bond as he appeals E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict — Former President Trump posted a roughly $91 million bond on Friday as he appeals the verdict in advice columnist E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit. — Trump had aimed to delay posting the bond or reduce the amount …

Discussion: USA Today, Civil Discourse …, MeidasTouch, The Guardian, DNyuz and Associated Press

Shayna Jacobs / Washington Post:
Trump posts $91M bond while appealing E. Jean Carroll defamation judgment

Luis Martinez / ABC News:

UFOs in storage? Findings about alien technology from exhaustive Pentagon review — The review looked at UFO sightings and reports dating back decades. — This video grab image obtained April 28, 2020, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense shows part of an unclassified video taken …

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, Washington Examiner, U.S. Department of Defense, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, DefenseScoop and Task & Purpose

Julian E. Barnes / New York Times:
Pentagon Review Finds No Evidence of Alien Cover-Up

Discussion: Axios, Associated Press, TMZ.com, DNyuz and NewsNation

Brandi Buchman / Law & Crime:

‘A likelihood of bribery, jury tampering, or of physical injury or harassment’: At first criminal trial of a former president, judge keeps juror names protected — and warns Trump about gag order — An extensive history of public and repeated attacks on trial jurors and grand jurors …

Discussion: Raw Story

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Hot streak for American jobs continues in early months of 2024 — The unemployment rate has now been below 4% for 25 consecutive months — a streak unseen in the United States since the 1960s. — Expectations heading into this morning showed projections of about 198,000 new jobs having been added in the United States in February.

Discussion: CNN, Fox Business, UPI, Daily Caller News Foundation and CNBC

Sylvan Lane / The Hill:
US gained 275K jobs in February, beating expectations

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, News/Talk 94.9 WSJM, MeidasTouch, Mercury News, Associated Press, USA Today and CBS News

David Uberti / Wall Street Journal:
Hiring Boom Continues With 275,000 Jobs Added

Discussion: CBS News, DNyuz, New York Post, CoinDesk and Fox Business

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Father of Marine Killed in Afghanistan Is Arrested During Biden's Address — Steve Nikoui yelled “Abbey Gate, Abbey Gate” during the speech, a reference to where his son, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, and 12 other troops were killed during the chaotic final days of the U.S. presence in Kabul.

Guy Faulconbridge / Reuters:

US embassy warns of imminent attack in Moscow by ‘extremists’ — The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State.