Georgia Republicans gave President Donald Trump positive reviews on Tuesday for his second State of the Union address, praising what they saw as a unifying message and inspirational guests.
Congressman Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, called the speech “spot-on.”
“He reached out across the aisle. He was conciliatory. I just can’t say enough good things,” Carter said in an interview following the speech.
“I think this president is evolving into a true, true world leader,” he added.
Cassville Republican Barry Loudermilk said Trump “took us on a tour through American history” with many of his guests and anecdotes.
The president “explained what American greatness really is and painted a vision of that’s where we want to be again,” said Loudermilk, who said he got “very emotional” when Trump introduced several D-Day veterans.
Not all local lawmakers were impressed.
Lithonia Democrat Hank Johnson, who boycotted the speech, called it “long and full of hot air.” He singled out Trump’s comments about the situation on the southern border as the president “spinning a false narrative” to justify construction of a wall.
“His speech in that regard was unrealistic and just more of the same old bull-headedness of Trump and his inability to understand the realities of what’s he’s doing to our nation,” said Johnson, who recently compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. “He’s tearing it apart and he’s tearing people apart.”
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott came away impressed from Trump’s speech. After eight years in Congress, the Tifton Republican is a State of the Union veteran, and he said such presidential speeches never get old.
“No matter what you think, whether it’s Barack Obama or Donald Trump, it’s the president of the United States,” he said with a smile. “There’s something special about being able to see the president of the United States speak in person.”
Read more: State of the Union address: Live updates
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