How Cable News reacted to the speech
After the speech came the deluge – that is, from the experts.
The instant hot takes on President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday On cable news, the division was largely along partisan lines, with Mr. Biden’s sympathizers praising his powerful speech while his usual critics suggested he sometimes appeared overly excited and vindictive.
Here’s a sampling of commentary from CNN, Fox News and MSNBC:
CNN
Dana Bash, Chief Political Correspondent: “They wanted him to be a fighter, and, boy, did he put up a fight.”
John King, chief correspondent: “He came out punching and came out swinging from the start.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, political commentator: “Joe Biden actually had to show up tonight and not fall down on stage. And he performed vastly better, just objectively. There was some stumbling, there was some coughing, and he is prone to certain forms of stuttering. But he did show energy. He showed the ability to get through a long speech.”
From Jones, political commentator: “I thought he was a remarkable, fiery, powerful, powerful man. And I think it gives people a lot of confidence that maybe this guy can go a long way.”
Fox news
Brit Hume, chief political analyst: ‘There was a lot of stumbling and confusion about words and everything else that we have come to associate with him. I don’t think he got away from that at all. I’m not sure anyone watching the man at home tonight would think he was anything other than an angry old man. I’m not sure this was the kind of energy the public would want to see in this country at a time like this.”
Dana Perino, anchor: “I really think this was a polarizing, divisive speech, and that was the intention.”
Harold Ford Jr., co-host of “The Five”: “He brought a lot of strength, a lot of energy.”
Sean Hannity, host: “He spent most of the night shouting, rushing through his speech and clearly overcompensating for the normal everyday Joe, who can barely string two sentences together. … Tonight America saw, shall we say, a very different Joe Biden. I might call him “Jacked-Up Joe.” ”
MSNBC
Nicolle Wallace, host: ‘This was his’What about Dem apples‘ speech. … Everyone knows this was a great speech. And everyone knows that if this is the message for the next eight months, the polls will soon reflect that and this will be a real battle.”
Chris Hayes, host: “It exceeded my expectations. I didn’t think it would be so aggressive and sharp.”
Joy-Ann Reid, host: “I thought the speech had a very high caffeine content. I think Joe Biden woke up this morning, had a cup of coffee and drank his Wheaties. He was definitely there to fight.”
Lawrence O’Donnell, host: “I have never put so much energy into the 10 p.m. hour.”