KoopaTV Live Reactions: SOTU 2023 + Sarah Huckabee Sanders's Response

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - THE STATE OF THE UNION is allegedly STRONG!

In what is an unfortunate tradition, whenever the White House of the United States of America takes over all of the television airwaves to get people to watch the annual State of the Union, that somehow takes over KoopaTV as well. There's some cool videogame news that came out today regarding financial disclosures, but that's been bumped by President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. talking to both parts of Congress (and the Supreme Court is invited too for some reason) for over an hour about what he wants to have happen in the United States of America, as well as what has already happened.

...Pretty much everyone else on the KoopaTV staff already fell asleep anticipating Sleepy Joe before he actually began talking. True story. That was the excuse I got from Kamek and Witch Princess, at least. So you just get my FAIR AND BALANCED commentary on not only the State of the Union 2023, but ALSO on the Republican Response featuring new Arkansas governor (and former White House press secretary) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former presidential candidate and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. You can scroll down to the article's bottom where her picture is if you want to read my thoughts on what she had to say, but there's basically nothing of substance to check out. (And that's her fault, not mine.)

[8:57 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcBTUvVp7M
[9:00 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I wish comments and chat weren't disabled. Oh well, people can read my thoughts throughout this log.
[9:00 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Starting with the fact that they're late. C'mon, man.
[9:02 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Oh, yay. Starting. And most importantly, with sign language girl.
[9:04 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: And by "starting" I mean video feed of the chamber without the President there.
[9:04 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Sign language girl is still trapped in a room.
[9:05 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Meanwhile, President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has gotten out of his (bed)room to walk down the hall to give his speech and ruin our evening.
[9:06 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Sign language girl is signing applauses.
[9:06 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: But she's not clapping, she's more waving her hands around.
[9:07 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Being an American Sign Language interpreter must mean your hands are the most important part of you; so maybe she doesn't want to damage them by banging them together, which is what clapping really is. Perhaps those in this chamber will figure out the same lesson and we won't be here all night listening to half of the hall clapping after every sentence the President makes.
[9:09 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He finally made it to the podium.
[9:10 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Kevin McCarthy, embattled Republican Speaker of the House, is told by President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., "It's okay, you can smile."
[9:10 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I wonder how Samus Aran would feel about that.
[9:11 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: In his effort to get him to smile, the President asks people to applaud for the new Speaker.

Kevin McCarthy had a very tough time getting to this position.
...And he'll keep having a tough time.

[9:11 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: They also applaud for Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader in the House.
[9:12 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Applauding for lots of other people in Congress.)
[9:14 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Today, COVID no longer controls our lives." It controlled my life throughout Christmas week. <.<
[9:14 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: The President says that Democrats and Republicans have "proved" that the two parties can work together.
[9:15 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: By signing over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation.
[9:16 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He believes the last Congress (2021 to 2023) was a role model of bipartisanship and should happen again. ...Well,  alright, if that's your standard.
[9:17 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Now he's doing his middle class stump speech.
[9:17 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "My dad used to say, Joey..."
[9:17 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Unemployment rate is at 3.4%, which is a very low number to be sure.
[9:18 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He's claiming American manufacturing is back and been going well.
[9:19 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Putin is blocking all that grain in Ukraine." For why inflation is a difficulty, but "inflation has fallen every month while take-home pay has gone up."
[9:20 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Apparently Kamala Harris is in charge of making sure that small businesses have access to capital, which likely spells doom for America's small businesses.
[9:21 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "We came together to pass the bipartisan Chips in Science Act." (For more domestic production of semiconductor chips.)
[9:21 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Still quite a bit of missing supply around the world.)
[9:22 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I appreciate he's acknowledging the "middle of the country, not just the coasts" also exists.
[9:22 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Jobs paying on average $130,000 a year, and many do not require a college degree." That'd be nice.
[9:23 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He said there's "3,000 permanent jobs" after previously discussing "hundreds of thousands of jobs"... well, sucks for the hundreds of thousands of people with temporary jobs, then.
[9:24 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "I want to thank my Republican friends who voted for the law."
[9:25 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He's discussing a bridge in Kentucky (or Ohio?) that needs repairs.
[9:25 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: 1.6 billion dollars to do so.
[9:25 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Met a young woman named Sarah."
[9:26 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Sarah has worked in an Iron Workers union for "30 years."
[9:26 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: ...She's probably not a "young woman" then.
[9:26 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Maybe compared to him.
[9:26 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Bipartisan applause for children not drinking poisoned water.
[9:27 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "No parents should have to drive by the McDonalds parking lot to help do their kids' homework."
[9:27 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: People playing videogames online also shouldn't have to do that, either.
[9:27 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: ...and yet they do.
[9:28 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: And that's not just a canard, I've had people admit that to me.
[9:29 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Blue collar blue print to rebuild America."
[9:29 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: This speech is pretty much something that the previous President would've given.
[9:30 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Trashing Big Pharma for high insulin costs.
[9:30 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "NOT ANYMORE!"
[9:31 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "We've capped the cost of insulin to $35 a month for seniors on Medicare. People are just finding out!"
[9:31 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Wot about Americans who aren't seniors or on Medicare?
[9:32 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Let's cap the cost of insulin for EVERYBODY at $35."
[9:32 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Big Pharma is still going to do very well I promise you."
[9:32 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Pfizer will, at least, with your garbage "vaccines".)
[9:33 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "We're finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices."
[9:33 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "It cuts the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars."
[9:33 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: They've been talking about negotiating these for many years across multiple parties!
[9:35 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Alright, here's where this speech will differ from the 45th President. Talking about CLIMATE CHANGE.
[9:35 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: OOOH HE SAID "global warming".
[9:35 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Haven't heard that one used in a while.
[9:36 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: A hot second! ...Or a globally warmed second.
[9:36 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "existential threat"
[9:37 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He keeps saying "we gotta finish the job."
[9:37 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Babbling about corporations "need to pay their fair share. Look, I'm a capitalist, but pay your fair share! A lot of people at home agree with me. The tax system is not fair."
[9:37 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: But you're demonising the FAIRtax. :(
[9:38 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in taxes. Nobody, not one penny."
[9:40 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "We're going to need oil for at least another decade."
[9:40 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "I propose we quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks and long-term investments." wtf
[9:40 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: That'll impact people earning less than $400,000.
[9:42 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset."
[9:42 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: LOUD boos from Republicans.
[9:43 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He's getting into a shouting match with the crowd.
[9:43 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now. We got unanimity!"
[9:44 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Let's stand up for seniors!"

Look at all of these cowards afraid of losing the elderly vote instead of doing the fiscally responsible thing.

[9:44 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Republicans and Democrats are standing up.
[9:45 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: More "wealthy and corporations pay their fair share."
[9:47 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He's getting to the point where he really should drink some water.
[9:48 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Junk Fee Prevention Act" to ban hidden fees that companies charge without disclosing.
[9:50 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Workers have the right to form a union! And let's guarantee all workers have a living wage!"
[9:50 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Let's restore the child tax credit."
[9:51 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Let's abolish the tax code.
[9:52 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "12 years of education isn't enough to win the economic competition of the 21st century."
[9:52 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: So he's talking about... preschool.
[9:52 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Pffft.
[9:52 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: And "let's give public school teachers a raise!"
[9:55 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Bipartisan applause for cracking down on identity theft fraud.
[9:57 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Are we getting to the cops are bad part of the speech? I can support that.
[9:57 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Referencing "The Talk" about what to do when a police officer pulls you over.
[9:58 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: ...
[9:58 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: If that's "The Talk", wot's it called when you discuss how babies are born?
[9:59 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Big Republican applause about how the majority of cops are good people.
[9:59 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: ugh
[10:01 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "DO SOMETHING." The President's directions to Congress on what he wants regarding police reform.
[10:03 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS. NOW. ONCE AND FOR ALL." no
[10:03 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: booo
[10:04 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Let's make immigration a bipartisan issue again."
[10:04 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I like it when the Republican Party isn't a puppet of corporate interests that want to flood their country with cheap illegals.
[10:05 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "Congress must protect Roe v. Wade."
[10:05 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: No, it should be a state issue, Congress shouldn't do anything.
[10:05 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Congress also shouldn't do national bans.)
[10:05 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: The President has issues saying "LGBTQ".
[10:06 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Relatable.
[10:07 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Talking about Ukraine.
[10:07 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He briefly tried pronouncing the Ukrainian ambassador's name but gave up to just refer to her as the Ukrainian ambassador.
[10:09 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: What the hell is he talking about?
[10:09 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "NAME ME ONE" ??
[10:10 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Now he's mumbling about opioid addiction.
[10:13 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Republicans are objecting for some reason about fentanyl killing Americans.
[10:14 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Everyone seems to agree to weaken Big Tech.
[10:17 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Something about cancer (which he was supposed to cure a while ago).
[10:18 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Now talking about January 6. blah
[10:19 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Paul Pelosi is here too. Nancy Pelosi is excited about it.
[10:22 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "THE STATE OF THE UNION IS STRONG."
[10:22 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: There it is! The quote!
[10:22 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Yay, he's going.
[10:23 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Shaking hands with Senator Raphael Warnock the Warlock.

KoopaTV definitely played a role in making sure Raphael Warnock the Warlock would be in this crowd as opposed to Herschel Walker.

[10:25 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: And now to wait for the useless Republican response, which should be on the C-SPAN stream. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfe2sOi-apk
[10:34 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: C-SPAN just has him going through the hall and talking to everyone there. Which is a big crowd.
[10:35 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: The Democrats talk about how much they loved his speech.
[10:37 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Democrats are taking selfies with him??
[10:42 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: He finally left.
[10:43 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Took twenty minutes.
[10:43 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: In about five minutes, Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be giving the Republican Response. Since we're Fair & Balanced, I'll listen to it.
[10:47 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (She's the current governor of Arkansas.)

I wasn't TRYING to get an unflattering screen capture of Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
That's just how she looks while talking. Like, the whole speech.

[10:48 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: She doesn't believe what President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. said.
[10:48 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (She also wrote the speech and that line prior to listening to what he had to say.)
[10:49 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: She's talking about being cancer-free for some reason.
[10:50 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Something about charging boldly ahead.
[10:50 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "I'm for freedom. He's for government control. At 40, I'm the youngest governor in the country. At 80, he's the oldest president."
[10:51 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "His administration has been completely hijacked by the radical left."
[10:51 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "The choice is between normal and crazy."
[10:51 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "It's time for a new generation of Republican leadership."
[10:51 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (They're the crazy?)
[10:52 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: "I signed an executive order to ban CRT, racism, and indoctrination in our schools."
[10:52 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: RACISM OVER
[10:53 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Talking about President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.'s "weakness" across the world.
[10:53 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Whatever that means.
[10:55 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Mike Huckabee reference.
[10:56 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: She plans to debut a "conservative education reform package" tomorrow.
[10:56 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Including school choice but also raising salaries for school teachers.
[10:57 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: She's saying it's time for "a generation" that sounds a lot like Millennials to find a better way forward.
[10:57 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Most Millennials are not conservatives, though!)
[10:58 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Talking about how Christmas 2018 she and President Donald John Trump landed in Iraq in a secret plane.
[10:59 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Back then, the American military was busy fighting ISIS.)
[10:59 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: It was a surprise visit to the troops from the President.
[11:01 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: And she seemed to have a personal experience with a particular guy who said she has a hard job while she said his job is harder, and they hugged.
[11:02 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Oh, finally talking about President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., basically saying him and his party are old and the younger generation of Republicans are gonna step up and keep America free.
[11:02 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: (Sooo she's not gonna support President Donald John Trump, right? Since he's not part of that young generation.)
[11:04 PM] Ludwig Von Koopa: ...gotta say, I liked the President's speech more than the Governor's, 


You won't get a real, written-out article tomorrow, either. More reaction logs ahead! ...Well, you should get actual gaming commentary on Thursday. But no one should really complain about what'll be Wednesday's article. Write whatever you want in the comments, be it your own reaction to the 2023 State of the Union on a substantive standpoint, or your thanks that you can read KoopaTV's log on it much faster than watching through the whole thing yourself.


Last year's State of the Union 2022 reaction log is here. If you compare the themes between 2022 and 2023, you'll find many of the same promises being made that haven't happened.