In his final State of the Union address, President Obama called on Americans of all parties to put aside their differences and work together. But what was really unexpected was the Republican response, which actually agreed with Obama on this—and then took a few jabs at its party's own frontrunner.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, often considered a front-runner for vice president, delivered the response Tuesday night. And though she didn't name names, everybody knew who she was talking about. She talked about her own experience as the daughter of Indian immigrants, and said that even though the U.S. needs to fight illegal immigration, "no one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country." And then she called out politicians (cough, Trump) who are more bluster than substance:
"In many parts of society today, whether in popular culture, academia, the media, or politics, there's a tendency to falsely equate noise with results. Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume. When the sound is quieter, you can actually hear what someone else is saying. And that can make a world of difference."
In an interview with the Today show Wednesday morning, she confirmed that yup, she was talking about Trump, and she isn't backing down. "Mr. Trump has definitely contributed to what I think is just irresponsible talk," she said. But she added that he's not the only person using volume, not content, to get what he wants. "There's other people in the media, there's people in my state, I think we're seeing it across the country," she said.
In her speech, she said both Republicans and Democrats need to take a hard look at today's politics to figure out how to move forward. And no matter which party you belong to, that seems like sound advice. Watch her full speech below:
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