President Joe Biden gave a State of the Union address on Thursday night that elicited charged reactions, including from two men who could have important roles in shaping the policy goals of a second Donald Trump administration.
Gov. Greg Abbott called out the president over his claim that he was “ready to fix the border,” accusing Biden of trying to distract the public from his inaction.
“President Biden’s State of the Union tonight was nothing short of a dog and pony show to convince the American people that his Administration is keeping America safe and secure,” Abbott said in a statement released Thursday night.
While visiting the southern border in Texas last week alongside Abbott, Trump told Fox News that the governor was on his shortlist of vice presidential running mates.
Abbott went on to contrast the Biden administration’s inaction to his state’s commitment to stem the flow of unlawful migrants and deadly drugs over the border:
“Yesterday marked the three-year anniversary since I launched Operation Lone Star to defend our state — and our nation — from the historic influx of illegal immigration, criminals, and deadly drugs like fentanyl pouring across our southern border. Texas also recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of our One Pill Kills public awareness campaign on the dangers of deadly fentanyl that Mexican drug cartels continue to surge into communities across America. Texas families — like Stefanie Turner, who was in attendance at the State of the Union tonight — are grieving as a direct result of the Biden Administration’s inaction to secure our border and keep dangerous drugs and criminals off our streets. Until President Biden steps up and does his job as Commander-in-Chief to secure the border, Texas will hold the line and use every tool and strategy to keep our country safe.”
As DX reported, though Biden never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name, he nonetheless referenced and contrasted himself to “my predecessor” several times. So it was no surprise that another person who has been the subject of speculation that he would play an important role in guiding a second Trump administration, retired Col. Doug Macgregor, released his own take on the state of the union.
Macgregor opened by stating that the charge of the federal government per the U.S. Constitution to promote the general welfare “obligates Washington to secure the basic necessities of life: energy, food, and shelter.”
He then admonished the Biden administration for failing to accomplish those goals and warned against bloated federal spending.
“The current administration claims the gross domestic product is booming, but much of it comes from government spending and employment. The government share of gross domestic product in the United States today is 42%, including federal, state, and local spending. This outrageous share is similar to the Soviet Union in the late 1980s before the collapse,” he claimed.
Macgregor blamed this spending for what he called the “rampant inflation” that has hammered American families.
The former senior Trump advisor also explained how foreign policy impacts the everyday economic lives of Americans back home.
“The pursuit of misguided foreign military interventions has not only drained our resources but also imperiled our hard-won energy independence, subjecting Americans to rising fuel prices and foreign influence,” said Macgregor.
Trump claimed to have achieved energy independence during his administration, which was defined by the American Energy Alliance as the nation producing more energy than it consumed.
As DX recently reported, fossil fuel production plunged during the first half of Biden’s term as he seemed to honor campaign promises made to the left for a Green New Deal. However, the backlash by consumers and manufacturers to those policies has caused the administration to quietly back off its “no more drilling” pledge and increase domestic oil production.
Macgregor warned that none of the challenges facing the nation could be solved without confronting what he called the “donor class” whose “corruption is enabled by a cancerous central banking system.”
“With privileged access to capital, this ruling class orchestrates endless wars enriching themselves and their cronies” while soldiers pay the price, he claimed.
