#Trump did his usual rote #lying about the #economy — pity the fact-checkers who tried to keep up even in the first 10 minutes or so of the speech — along with some of his other greatest hits, including the many #wars he stopped [🙄] & the magic of #tariffs. (He referred to the “unfortunate involvement” of #SCOTUS on the tariff issue, as if the justices barged into his office like interlopers.)

#SOTU

He started, of course, with the US men’s #Olympic #hockey team. Just basking along with Team USA wasn’t enough. #Trump soon announced that the goalie Connor Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential #MedalOfFreedom. Normally, this honor is bestowed for a lifetime of achievement, but this time it was given as if the young athlete had chosen the right door & found a new car.

#SOTU

And so it went, all night. Sometimes, the guests were meant to tug at the heart, such as when #Trump recognized Erica Kirk, the wife of the murdered activist Charlie Kirk. Others were presented as ornaments meant to illustrate Trump’s successes: Enrique Marquez, a Venezuelan political prisoner freed after U.S. forces deposed the strongman Nicolas Maduro, was given a round of well-deserved applause. Trump also gave a shoutout to a woman whose IVF medications were now, he claimed, cheaper.

#SOTU