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state of the union

On Feb. 1, 2018, President Donald Trump tweeted that his first State of the Union was the most watched in history.

"Thank you for all of the nice compliments and reviews," he wrote. "Delivered from the heart!"

The problem, of course, is that this claim is verifiably false.

As New York Magazine pointed out, fewer people watched Trump's State of the Union than the first addresses given by the previous three presidents. Even Fox News(!) published a tweet debunking the president's claim.


Whether it's TV ratings or inauguration crowd sizes, the president seems fixated on proving his were the biggest, best there were — even when the facts so clearly say otherwise. It's a strange need Stephen Colbert pointed out on his "Late Show" monologue on Feb. 1.

"First, that’s not true," Colbert panned after reading Trump's State of the Union tweet aloud. "Second, it’s a lie."

After pointing out that other presidents have had higher-rated addresses, Colbert reasoned:

"Look, it doesn’t matter how many people watched. But what does matter is that the president needs to lie about it, and then somehow get away with it. This is the new world we live in."

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

Does Trump really believe lying — on issues of very little importance, no less — is sound political strategy?

Because it doesn't seem like the president's thought this one through.

His public statement file by the nonpartisan fact-checking organization PolitiFact is littered with "mostly false," "false," and "pants on fire!" ratings. In his first year in office, Trump made over 2,000 false or misleading claims according to The Washington Post, which pointed out the president often doubles down on his most dubious points many, many times; like his administration's ability to build an inexpensive border wall with Mexico in under one year (nope, not feasible).

You might be tempted to credit Trump's lying if it were fooling the American public to his advantage. But it's not. Just one-third of American voters considered Trump "trustworthy," according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll published last October — a figure that falls in line with his historically dismal approval numbers.

Colbert, however, is leaning into Trump's obsession with always "winning" — even when it completely bends the truth.

"Let me just say right now in advance," Colbert concluded in his criticism Thursday night. "Congratulations to President Trump on winning the Super Bowl! Well played.” 😂

Watch Colbert's opening monologue from Feb. 2 below:

President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address last night.

It was full of rousing moments, brutal mic drops, and two appearances of the phrase "pass muster," which gave the whole thing a nice Gatsby feel.

While a lot of important issues were addressed, like terrorism and curing cancer, some were not — abortion rights and police brutality to name a few.


Obama delivering his final State of the Union address. Photo by Evan Vucci/Getty Images.

One topic Obama brought up toward the end carried with it his only use of the word "regret."

"Democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest. Too many Americans feel that way right now. It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency  —  that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better."

It's not often you hear a president use the word "regret."

He's expressed frustration at gun control and in 2015 said that he wishes he closed Guantanamo Bay on his first day in office.

But for Obama to express regret in his final address, before all of congress and America, is a pretty big deal.

Especially since the issue at the heart of his regret is one we hear about often — divisiveness and partisanship in Congress and in this country.

Americans, more than ever, feel divided and that their voices simply aren't being heard the way they used to.

According to a recent CNN poll, 75% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the government is being run. That's a huge problem in a country that is supposed to be "of the people."

From billionaire bankers who can crash the economy without spending a second in jail, to corporate CEOs who can buy and sell presidential candidates to unarmed black men being killed by police on sight — and those cops who never see a day in court because of a system of politics that protects them — it's pretty easy to see why people aren't feeling just dissatisfied but completely unmotivated.

Most Americans look at the scope and scale of the problems this country faces and just aren't sure they can do anything about it.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's election in 2013 received record-low voter turnout. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.

Voter turnout is on the decline in presidential elections, and in local and primary elections, turnout has been abysmal. Not to mention even if people do turn out to vote, politicians have gerrymandered districts, something the president called for an end to in his State of the Union, or as he described it, "the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters and not the other way around."

Once again, in a country that elects its leaders to represent them, this is — to put it lightly — not good.

But there may be one silver lining to this problem, in the form of millennial voters.

According to a poll conducted by Rock the Vote and USA Today, millennial voters (the country's largest demographic) no longer reliably identify as liberal or conservative.

Millennials are more likely to cast their votes based on issues, not candidates, and their political alignments reflect a need for radical systemic change rather than just another party politician.

It might explain why there's so much support for Bernie Sanders, a candidate who, much like Obama eight years ago, many young voters believe carries with him the radical change they're looking for.

On the other hand, it could also explain millennial Republicans' support for Donald Trump, a candidate who also represents an anti-establishment ideology.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is surging in popularity just ahead of the Iowa Caucus. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.

Maybe that's what bridging this almighty divide will look like. Voters turning out to voice their concern on specific issues and candidates who, as a result, have to be representatives of the people first and politicians second. As it should be.

This is what one of the most powerful world leaders, the president of the United States, says he regrets not being able to change in his years in office.

Of course, the president went on to say that he would do his best in his remaining year in office to address this problem.

"There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office."

He went on to say that what's necessary is a change of the entire system, an end to practices like gerrymandering that will help us "to reflect our better selves."

But the president's call to action is significant because the people, with a united voice, are one thing that's more powerful than he is.

With an election coming up this year, the voice of the American people has the potential to be louder than it ever has. As the president noted in his closing paragraphs, it's not enough to just sit at home and be frustrated.

More

7 of the best lines from President Obama's State of the Union address.

The president's speech had a large focus on our country's founding values.

Last night's State of the Union address stood out from the president's past efforts.

It was less a call for specific policy action than it was a plea for us to see beyond left and right, Democrat and Republican, blue states and red states. The whole thing was reminiscent of the speech President Obama delivered at the 2004 Democratic National Convention — and it was awesome.

You can read the entire transcript here, but below are seven of the speech's highlights.


Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

1. "I want to focus on our future."

In the early portion of the president's speech, he took a moment to focus on the changing nature of the world, urging us to embrace that fact rather than trying to tie progress back to some past version of greatness.

"We live in a time of extraordinary change — change that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our place in the world. It’s change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families. It promises education for girls in the most remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an ocean away. It’s change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality. And whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will only accelerate.

America has been through big changes before — wars and depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights. Each time, there have been those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control. And each time, we overcame those fears. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the 'dogmas of the quiet past.' Instead we thought anew, and acted anew. We made change work for us, always extending America’s promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and more people. And because we did — because we saw opportunity where others saw only peril — we emerged stronger and better than before."

2. "Leadership depends on the power of our example."

With campaigning for this year's election in full swing, rhetoric from some of the candidates has bordered on (and sometimes openly embraced) xenophobia. We've seen how this plays out, and that cannot be who we are as a nation.

"We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith. His Holiness, Pope Francis, told this body from the very spot I stand tonight that 'to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.' When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country."

3. "What was true then can be true now."

It's here that the president touches on some of his administration's big accomplishments — namely, the health care law, action taken to make the country less dependent on fossil fuels, and the Supreme Court's historic marriage equality ruling — holding them up as shining examples of progress. It's all part of the same larger story of who we are as a country.

"Our unique strengths as a nation — our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery and innovation, our diversity and commitment to the rule of law — these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for generations to come.

In fact, it’s that spirit that made the progress of these past seven years possible. It’s how we recovered from the worst economic crisis in generations. It’s how we reformed our health care system, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered more care and benefits to our troops and veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love."

4. "We the people."

This ties back to the core value found right there at the beginning of our constitution — "we," not "I," not "me," but "we." We need to acknowledge that we're all deserving of human decency, respect, and rights.

"Our Constitution begins with those three simple words, words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together. That brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing I want to say tonight.

The future we want — opportunity and security for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids — all that is within our reach. But it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates.

It will only happen if we fix our politics.

A better politics doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. This is a big country, with different regions and attitudes and interests. That’s one of our strengths, too. Our Founders distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of security."





5. "Real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training they need."

Here's where the president re-upped his commitment to making sure anybody who wants an education can get an education. It's a plan he unveiled during last year's State of the Union address, and at very least, it serves as a reminder of just how hard it is to get anything done in Washington.

"We have to make college affordable for every American. Because no hardworking student should be stuck in the red. We’ve already reduced student loan payments to ten percent of a borrower’s income. Now, we’ve actually got to cut the cost of college. Providing two years of community college at no cost for every responsible student is one of the best ways to do that, and I’m going to keep fighting to get that started this year.

Of course, a great education isn’t all we need in this new economy. We also need benefits and protections that provide a basic measure of security. After all, it’s not much of a stretch to say that some of the only people in America who are going to work the same job, in the same place, with a health and retirement package, for 30 years, are sitting in this chamber. For everyone else, especially folks in their forties and fifties, saving for retirement or bouncing back from job loss has gotten a lot tougher. Americans understand that at some point in their careers, they may have to retool and retrain. But they shouldn’t lose what they’ve already worked so hard to build."

6. "It will depend on you."

This is some vintage Obama. This is the man who made us believe D.C. didn't have to be what it's so often seen as; he's the man who envisioned a world where Democrats and Republicans could come together to solve the country's big problems. Maybe he was naive, and maybe the rest of us were too, but deep down that hope continues to burn.

"What I’m asking for is hard. It’s easier to be cynical; to accept that change isn’t possible, and politics is hopeless, and to believe that our voices and actions don’t matter. But if we give up now, then we forsake a better future. Those with money and power will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure. As frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background.

We can’t afford to go down that path. It won’t deliver the economy we want, or the security we want, but most of all, it contradicts everything that makes us the envy of the world."

7. "That's the America I know."

The speech's closing was spoken like the optimistic dreamer of a decade earlier, and not a man who's faced truly epic Congressional gridlock throughout his eight years in office.

"That’s the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That’s what makes me so hopeful about our future. Because of you. I believe in you. That’s why I stand here confident that the State of our Union is strong."


If there's a takeaway from the president's speech, it's that we cannot let fear win.

There's a near-apocalyptic feeling coming out of the current campaigns for president. Whether it's in the form of a politician calling on us to take the country into some past version of "greatness" or general use of doom and gloom type rhetoric, we cannot allow ourselves to sink that far into cynicism. We're better than that.

Of the many guests President Obama and the first lady will invite to the State of the Union, one stands out.

It was the first guest announced, and it's arguably the most important, and sadly relatable, guest an administration has ever played host to. That guest is, of course, the empty seat, representing those who've been lost to gun violence.


Since the announcement, families of gun violence victims and survivors have rallied around the hashtag #EmptySeat, using it to express the feeling of loss that comes along with losing loved ones to gun violence.


"It's terrifyingly easy to buy a gun without a background check in far too many states." — Lucy McBath, mother of 17-year-old shooting victim Jordan Davis

Some of the families sharing their stories lost loved ones in highly publicized mass shootings.

Such as Dave Sanders, a teacher who was gunned down trying to save students during the attack at Columbine High School.


Or 6-year-old Noah Pozner, who was shot and killed in the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook.


"#EmptySeat is an expression of our daily anguish and grief for our loved ones stolen or affected by gun violence," Caren Teves told Upworthy in an email. She lost her 24-year-old son Alex Teves in the Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting that killed 12 and injured 70 in July 2012.

"It is a public outcry to demand Congressional action, as well as thanking President Obama for his executive actions."


People visit a memorial across the street from the Aurora, Colorado, theater where James Holmes opened fire on a crowd. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

Lucy McBath — whose son Jordan Davis was 17 years old when he was shot and killed at a Jacksonville, Florida, gas station in an argument over loud music back in November 2012 — is also sadly familiar with the symbolism of the empty chair.

"At what should have been Jordan's high school graduation, his classmates left a seat open for him. His music teacher kept a chair open in class," McBath told Upworthy over email.

"To honor Jordan's memory, I've made it my life mission to help prevent other families from going through the pain of having a loved one taken by senseless gun violence."

Others are using the #EmptySeat hashtag to honor the many victims of gun violence whose stories we'll never hear.

This woman's uncle who died by suicide.


Or those who've had their weapons used against them.



A quick look through the hashtag can be absolutely heart-wrenching — so keep that in mind before you check it out. It provides a very real, very human look at loss, mourning, and the true cost of violence.

It's those stories — the ones we'd never otherwise hear — that make the #EmptySeat hashtag so powerful.

Regardless where you stand on gun control, it's clear that something needs to change.

Unfettered access to guns is not a sound policy position, nor was it the founders' intent when crafting the Second Amendment (that whole "well-regulated" part is pretty important). The overwhelming majority of Americans support mandatory background checks on all gun purchases. So why can't we make that happen?

"It's terrifyingly easy to buy a gun without a background check in far too many states," says McBath. "There is so much more we can do to keep guns out of dangerous hands. ... It's time for elected leaders in states across the country to close the loopholes that make it easy for dangerous people to get guns."

A memorial is set up in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood on Sept. 8, 2015. Nine were shot and killed over Labor Day weekend. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

Standing by while people, like those remembered by friends and family with the #EmptySeat hashtag, continue to lose their lives to gun violence is not an option.

Platitudes like "Guns don't kill people; people kill people" do nothing to stem the ongoing loss of life. Placing blame on people with mental illness is neither fair nor effective at cutting down on violence. The fact is that the vast majority of people involved in shootings are not mentally ill.

While the executive actions laid out by President Obama are a start, they don't (and they can't) completely close the loophole that allows people to buy and sell guns without performing background checks at gun shows and via private sale. For this type of real, concrete change to happen, Congress needs to take action.

We need to do something. We don't need any more empty seats.