Ever the Diplomat, Mike Lee Says the Quiet Part out Loud

Utah Senator Mike Lee is not a pugilist. He could have really brought it to perpetual candidate Evan McMullin during his 2022 Senate re-election campaign, and to his fellow Utah Senator Mitt Romney for playing Switzerland during the race. But Lee chose not to. Ever the statesman, he simply made his case on why he should be re-elected and what he has done for Utah and the American people.

Thus, here we are.

Senator Mike Lee is also a realist, but he lays out the obvious in straightforward, but more elegant terminology than the majority of us. Lee had much to say during Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night and chose to say it via Twitter.

I think Corn Pop wrote that speech.

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 8, 2023

Lee issued several tweets on his personal take regarding Biden’s SOTU speech and Biden’s state of being.

From Fox News:

“He’s not well,” the Utah senator tweeted.

President Biden opened his State of the Union address with a gaffe, incorrectly calling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the “minority leader.”

“And congratulations, Chuck Schumer, another you know, another term as Senate minority leader,” said Biden.

The current Senate Minority Leader is Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“You know, I think, you know, this time you have a slightly bigger majority, Mr. Leader. You know, majority leader, but that much bigger,” he clarified after.

He’s not well.

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 8, 2023

Straightforward, but with an edge of elegance. How unwell was seen in the over 70 minutes of Biden’s address, which Lee discussed with Utah Governor Spencer Cox. Gov. Cox was Lee’s guest at the Capitol and they sat down for a casual conversation and shared observations. Cox had never been to a State of the Union before, so he commented on the way it is organized, what embodies a SOTU or SOTS (state of the state), and they covered some of the high and low points of the night.

The biggest low point: Biden’s Social Security and Medicare lie, which received a raucous reaction from Republicans in the chamber.

Cox commented on his surprise that Biden chose to go there.

Lee replied,

“That was a new feature. I have to say, I haven’t seen that particular technique used before.”

Cox interjected that it did not go over very well. Taking a page from the Mike Lee book of manners obviously, because that is an understatement.

“I tend to think that White House staffs in the future will not redeploy that mechanism.”

Tragically, maybe not. Democrats and the Left (but I repeat myself) are currently making it sound as though Biden somehow did this deliberately, as if he coordinated some 3-D Chess move to save Social Security and Medicare from dissolution.

Right.

President Biden did a masterful Jiu-Jitsu maneuver converting Republican boos into a unanimous promise not to cut Social Security and Medicare. He’s showing his agility and mental acuity in this State of the Union address despite all the accusations of senility from the right.

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) February 8, 2023

Lee made a cogent point about how the State of the Union ultimately devolves into a pep rally, which prevents the actual speech from being heard and absorbed.

“It’s made much worse by the fact that it becomes such a pep rally. And this really is consistent from one presidential administration to another. There is a tendency at some point in the speech to go off onto a pep rally phase. Once that happens, just a continual applause line. And so the applause never completely stops. Some presidents are better than others at working their way through the applause. Pausing. Allowing the applause to happen and speaking again. We didn’t see as much of that tonight.”

This is Senator Mike Lee’s 13th State of the Union address, so he has inside baseball knowledge that could be lost to a new, media-oriented, or casual observer. This is part of the reason why he can say with all seriousness that President Joe Biden is not well.

“This one was unique in several respects. Not necessarily in good ways. I’m trying to take off my partisan hat as much as I can here. But this one was objectively different from any other than I’ve attended, because the President of the United States looked us right in the eye and mischaracterized what half the people in the chamber believe. What half the people in the chamber, according to him, want. It wasn’t true. And he did that not just once, but he did it, two, three, four times. I’ve never seen that particular technique used and it didn’t end well.

Then Lee delved into the unique lens developed from being up close and personal with Biden on a fairly regular basis.

“He looked a little bit confused when we pushed back on it. I am very concerned about it. He’s not at his best. I’ve gotten to know him over the years. Joe Biden has actually sworn me into office twice, he was the Vice President the first two times I was sworn in. And I’ve had a number of conversations with him over the years as Vice President and now that he is President. There’s a change in him, and I fear that his staff did him a grave disservice knowing that he’s not in much of a position to push back these days, and I think they took undue advantage of it.”