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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

‘Heckling’ at State of the Union Addresses

‘Heckling’ at State of the Union Addresses

A day after several Republicans interrupted President Joe Biden’s second State of the Union address with loud jeering, a Democratic leader said he couldn’t “remember a Democrat ever heckling a president in a State of the Union.” But the Democrats have voiced displeasure with a Republican president at such events on several occasions, dating to at least 2005.

State of the Union Anecdotes Debunked

State of the Union Anecdotes Debunked

It is customary for presidents to invite guests to the State of the Union address to provide anecdotal evidence that supports the president’s policies. But it turns out President Donald Trump’s speech included misleading descriptions of two such guests.

Facts Of The Union

We found some puffery in President Bush’s State of the Union address.

Misstatement of the Union

The President burnishes the State of the Union through selective facts and strategic omissions.

Bush’s “16 Words” on Iraq & Uranium: He May Have Been Wrong But He Wasn’t Lying

Summary
The famous “16 words” in President Bush’s Jan. 28, 2003 State of the Union address turn out to have a basis in fact after all, according to two recently released investigations in the US and Britain.
Bush said then, “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Some of his critics called that a lie, but the new evidence shows Bush had reason to say what he did.