Not every politician feels comfortable walking Twitter like a high wire, but some of those who are thinking hard about seeking the presidency next year tweeted out blunt reactions to President Obama’s second-to-last State of the Union address.
Some live-tweeted, others worked from advance text of Obama’s hour-long remarks.
Here’s a representative sample of what these White House hopefuls had to say, beginning with a link to an analysis video from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Tonight America saw a powerful demonstration that it is time to move on beyond President Barack Obama. #SOTU2015 https://t.co/1TDtwcXqIz
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 21, 2015
This>>> pic.twitter.com/nhokuPvZAT — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 21, 2015
Shorter Obama: If you like your college savings plan, you can keep it. But I’m gonna tax the hell out of it. #sotu — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 21, 2015
Mr. President, you can’t wave a magic wand and declare something free. Someone has to pay for it. #sotu — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 21, 2015
Middle class economics? Wonder if you’ll learn about that in free community college? #sotu — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 21, 2015
The President’s address was a lost opportunity and shows a man out of touch on both domestic and foreign policy. #SOTU — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) January 21, 2015
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., whom some liberals in her party hope will run for president, was pretty active on Twitter in support of the president.
Now’s the time to let people refinance their student loans. Thank you @WhiteHouse for supporting our #BankOnStudents bill. #SOTU — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 21, 2015
Paul also cut his own response and tweeted out a link:
Don’t like what you heard from @BarackObama in tonight’s #SOTU? Watch my response & RT to show your support: http://t.co/F80GoKv5Ur
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 21, 2015
A powerful response to tonight’s #SOTU from @joniernst. #RepublicanResponse — Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 21, 2015
President Obama called ISIS the “JV team” when their coming rise could not have been more clear. #SOTU
— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 21, 2015
More government does not equal more success. Actually, quite the opposite. #SOTU — Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 21, 2015
One of the leading Republican hopefuls, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, weighed in late with a salute to the official response to Obama from newly elected Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa:
We need to create economic opportunity for every American. @joniernst offered sound conservative reforms. https://t.co/cyBq8N39k2 #SOTU
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) January 21, 2015
Out of touch, dangerous #SOTU – 1 in 3 released from GITMO return to battlefield, no mention of Al Qaeda for the 1st time since 9/11. — George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) January 21, 2015
Democrat Jim Webb, the former U.S. senator from Virginia, was up to something. It wasn’t clear whether this worried presumptive party favorite Hillary Clinton, though.
We must clarify when is it appropriate to use military force, & also when is it appropriate for POTUS to act without consent of congress. — Jim Webb (@JimWebbUSA) January 21, 2015
Veterans deserve more than lip-service. If you want to thank a veteran, hire one. #webb2016 #SOTU2015 — Jim Webb (@JimWebbUSA) January 21, 2015
The American Dream was built upon hard work, trustworthy leadership, and a fair playing field. #webb2016 #economicfairness — Jim Webb (@JimWebbUSA) January 21, 2015
#webb2016 #leadershipyoucantrust http://t.co/EFynjRQPEt — Jim Webb (@JimWebbUSA) January 21, 2015
Congress needs to act on the President’s call & expand paid leave to increase wages, help families & ensure our workers can succeed. #SOTU — Martin O’Malley (@GovernorOMalley) January 21, 2015
The President wants to grow the economy in Washington. We want to grow the economy in cities and towns and villages all across America. — Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 21, 2015
Republican Rick Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, got a little pointed.
Has there been a single proposal that any Republican has applauded? No change and thus no hope for success. #SOTU — Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) January 21, 2015
A line I agree with is we want people to not only share in America’s success but contribute to its success. — Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) January 21, 2015
Early on, Paul was helpful on fact-checking and other basics:
This President’s words and reality often don’t match up. Give yourself a refresher with our new game: https://t.co/g7SQNN9F2q #sotu — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 20, 2015
Fact-check the President’s past #sotu speeches >>> https://t.co/g7SQNN9F2q — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 21, 2015
Santorum at one point turned to and retweeted the Republican National Committee’s fact-check operation:
#SOTU Fact Check: FALSE. pic.twitter.com/F8GfnRA80B — RNC (@GOP) January 21, 2015
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another Republican with an eye on the White House, lightheartedly played the spoiler two hours before Obama began to speak:
I’ll save you 45 mins. Obama will decry Republicans, beat up on private business and argue for more “free stuff”. Your welcome. #SOTU2015” — Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) January 21, 2015
Entrepreneurs & small businesses create middle-class jobs, but Obama’s policies are making life harder for both. #SOTU — Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 21, 2015
64% still feel we’re in a recession. Liberal policies are crushing the potential of this country. https://t.co/5ObxyJpo6Y #SOTU @TeamCavuto — Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) January 21, 2015
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent socialist from Vermont who some would like to see seek the Democratic nomination, tweeted a series of observations like these:
Today, more than half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings. #SOTU — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 21, 2015
The bottom 90% of Americans are poorer today than they were in 1987. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 21, 2015
President seems to measure success by how many people are dependent on the govt. We should measure success by just the opposite. — Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 21, 2015
While DC just talks, we’re kicking off a tour in South Dakota fighting for a federal @balancedbudget amendment. http://t.co/sJYSdfatQV — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) January 21, 2015
Perhaps not surprisingly, Rick Perry had cooler stuff in mind than a race for president or the president’s speech on his first evening as the former governor of Texas:
Sandy’s, where you go to celebrate. pic.twitter.com/bxaTWEMz4i — Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) January 20, 2015
“How do we make it better?” Listen to VP Biden preview the State of the Union address: http://t.co/xIUBDInsIl #SOTU pic.twitter.com/6UZbvWaGRR — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2015