The votes are in and by most accounts President Trump's first State of the Union was a home run. At an hour and 20 minutes, it was one of the longest addresses in modern history. It was a lengthy speech, but "a very strong speech," CNN's Wolf Blitzer noted Tuesday night after the main event.
“Let’s set aside for a second the parts of the speech everyone in the world likes: the inspirational stories of Americans, and the calls to unity, and the beautiful prose,” Jake Tapper, another CNN anchor, added.
Other CNN contributors like Chris Cillizza were among those media pundits who acknowledged the "amazing moment" when Trump recognized North Korean defector Ji Seong Ho, who became crippled in his search for freedom. When the president gave him his moment in the spotlight, Seong Ho lifted his crutches for all to see.
Amazing moment https://t.co/6GCtCDI8HO
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) January 31, 2018
The good reviews trickled over into other networks. At NBC News, Savannah Guthrie, while doubting the substance of the speech, had to at least note it struck a positive tone.
“I thought in terms of its tone, the president did what he said he was going to do. It was optimistic, it was bright, it was conciliatory," she said.
The American people agreed, according to polling. CBS News found that 75 percent of viewers liked what they heard from Trump. Even more telling, seventy-two percent of independents approved.
Of course, there were others like Van Jones, who accused Trump of selling poison.
.@VanJones68 on President Trump's #SOTU address: "He was selling sweet tasting candy with poison in it" https://t.co/uXi9y7GKeG
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 31, 2018