Sarah Sanders delivers GOP rebuttal to Biden SOTU, says Americans have a choice 'between normal or crazy'
Newly-elected Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders delivered the GOP rebuttal to President Biden's second State of the Union address Tuesday, calling for a "new generation of Republican leadership" and describing the choice between Democrats and Republicans as a choice "between normal or crazy."
"Being a mom to three young children taught me not to believe every story I hear. So forgive me for not believing much of anything I heard tonight from President Biden. From out-of-control inflation and violent crime to the dangerous border crisis and threat from China, Biden and the Democrats have failed you," Sanders said.
"It’s time for a change. Tonight, let us reaffirm our commitment to a timeless American idea: that government exists not to rule the people, but to serve the people. Democrats want to rule us with more government control, but that is not who we are," she added.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers the Republican response to the State of the Union address by President Joe Biden on February 7, 2023 in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)
Sanders noted that she and Biden didn't have a lot in common because she is "for freedom" and he's "for government control," and went on to note the four decades difference in their ages.
"At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country. At 80, he’s the oldest president in American history. I’m the first woman to lead my state. He’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is," she said.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listen on February 7, 2023. (Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images)
"In the radical left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country," she added.
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She described the Biden administration as "completely hijacked by the radical left," and said that America's "dividing line" was no longer a separation between right and left.
"The choice is between normal or crazy," she said. "It is time for a new generation of Republican leadership."
She went on to tout her efforts in Arkansas to combat indoctrination and other Democratic policies like critical race theory and shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that Americans wanted common sense from their leaders, but that Biden was busy "doubling down on crazy."
"President Biden inherited the fastest economic recovery on record. The most secure border in history. Cheap abundant, home-grown energy. Fast-rising wages. A rebuilt military. And a world that was stable and at peace. But over the last two years, Democrats destroyed it all," Sanders said.
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after Biden delivered his State of the Union address. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"Despite Democrats’ trillions in reckless spending and mountains of debt, we now have the worst border crisis in American history," she added.
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Sanders expressed the need to secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, a drug responsible thousands of deaths every month, railed against Democratic calls to defund the police, and blasted Biden's "weakness" on foreign policy, especially China.
"Make no mistake: Republicans will not surrender this fight. We will lead with courage and do what’s right, not what’s politically correct or convenient," she said.
"Republicans believe in an America where strong families thrive in safe communities. Where jobs are abundant, and paychecks are rising. Where the freedom our veterans shed their blood to defend is the birthright of every man, woman, and child," she said.
Sanders vowed that under the leadership of Senate Republicans and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republicans would hold the Biden administration accountable.
"America is great because we are free. But today, our freedom is under attack, and the America we love is in danger. President Biden and the Democrats have failed you. It’s time for a change. A New Generation of Republican leaders is stepping up… not to be caretakers of the status quo, but to be change makers for the American people," she said.
"We know not what the future holds, but we know who holds the future in His hands. And with God as our witness, we will show the world that America is still the place where freedom reins and liberty will never die," she added.
Sanders, who served as White House press secretary under former President Donald Trump, never held elected office prior to being elected as Arkansas' governor. She is also the daughter of the state's former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee.