It is no secret that the United States has been more divided than ever in recent years. But reactions to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address have done the trick in unifying many viewers.
For those who didn’t catch it, Biden’s speech was followed up by a response from the GOP, which is customary for all State of the Union addresses. What wasn’t customary was Alabama state Senator Katie Britt’s bizarre behavior during her rebuttal. Just in time for International Women’s Day, Britt put on a show that was a terrible caricature of a hysterical woman, all while sitting at a kitchen table. The satire writes itself.
Critics on both sides of the aisle were baffled by Britt vacillating between anger and being on the verge of tears. Republicans confided to Rolling Stone that they perceived the speech to be just as much of a disaster as everyone else did. It is rare to see political rivals in agreement, but it is hard to watch the video and not cringe, as the hosts of the daytime talk show The View put it quite well.
The View reacts to Katie Britt’s speech
The View only showed a few soundbites from Britt’s infamous speech, but it should be enough to scare anyone. One moment, Britt is laughing at Biden’s economic plan, and the next she is whispering emphatically at the camera. The hosts of The View quickly started firing off zingers, starting with Joy Behar.
“I haven’t seen acting that bad since my wedding night.”
The other hosts immediately piled on, agreeing that her acting left a lot to be desired. Ana Navarro joked that Britt thought it was the night of the Oscars, while the rest cited concerns over her mental health. But Alyssa Farah Griffin’s observations truly got to the heart of what is so concerning about Britt’s behavior.
Britt’s emotional rollercoaster shows how volatile the American political system has become. Demonstrating such sadness and anger in the span of a few minutes shows that the current political landscape isn’t just about disagreement. It has become dangerous. Though many agree Britt did not seem in a professional headspace, the emotions she demonstrated are real to many Americans. Griffin stated that the speech was “a disaster from start to finish,” and further explained what was so toxic about the representation.
“It’s Women’s History Month, it’s International Women’s Day, and we put the Senator in the kitchen.”
The hosts noted that this was a lack of foresight on the part of the Republicans. Pushing the women’s liberation movement back into the ‘50s is the opposite of what we should strive for. Griffin theorized that the political party tried to call back to simpler times with the decision, even if it didn’t work in their favor.
“And I think they were thinking Ronald Reagan, like, all great change in America happens at the dinner table, but instead it gave, like, creepy Lifetime movie.”
Griffin’s astute analysis puts a terrifying spotlight on the current state of affairs in American politics. Britt’s thesis of trying to adhere to traditional norms of almost a century past is not what any of us would hope for. The only comforting aspect of this entire situation is being able to poke fun at what is in front of us. Sometimes you just have to laugh.