Trump's State of the Union: 18 WTF Moments

Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night. In a divisive speech dressed up with language of unity, the president highlighted a stock market that has "smashed one record after another"; the GOP's corporate giveaway – "the biggest tax cuts and reform in American history"; and his still-vague plans to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. Relentlessly highlighting lurking dangers, Trump bashed America's immigrants and terrorists and North Korea with equal vigor. The speech stretched the truth so far that the Politifact fact-check website actually crashed.

The address was delivered in a charged House chambers: Many representatives and senators dressed in all black to support the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Invited guests included dozens impacted by president Trump's immigration policies, including Dreamers whose legal protections Trump revoked, refugees from "shithole" countries like El Salvador – whose temporary protected status Trump revoked – and family members of hardworking undocumented immigrants seized by Trump's deportation force, ICE, in a crackdown that was supposed to target only "bad hombres."

Marital tension was also on display. Melania Trump attended and clapped, unsmiling, as her husband arrived. (Given the WWE-ification of our politics, it was perhaps a bit surprising that neither Stormy Daniels, the porn star and alleged Trump paramour, nor Michael Wolff, chronicler of White House dysfunction in Fire and Fury, scored an invite.)

The speech was vintage Teleprompter Trump – underscoring the president's occasional ability to read soberly from a script, without lapsing into his more familiar insulting outbursts or simian dominance displays. But despite the presentable topspin, weird and unscripted moments flashed through.

Here are the 18 WTF moments from Trump's first State of the Union.

1. WTF, I thought it was his second State of the Union.
Yes, we all remember the president's first address to a joint session of Congress in February 2017. Trump turned the widow of a fallen Navy SEAL into a political prop – prompting CNN's Van Jones to gush: "He became President of the United States in that moment, period." But for reasons – dull, pedantic reasons – a new president's first speech to Congress is not recognized as a State of the Union. That makes Trump's 2018 address SOTU numero uno.

2. It was also America's first ever "State of the Uniom"
From the president who brought you the imaginary African nation of "Nambia," and the exacting White House staff that misspelled the name of the British Prime minister, the "opiod crisis," and the Nordic country, "Normway," the Trump administration offered members of congress official tickets to his "State of the Uniom" address. The typo prompted Democrat Rep. Raul Grijalva to tweet: "Just received my ticket for the State of the Union. Looks like @BetsyDeVosEd was in charge of spell checking." The Arizona Democrat referred to Trump's Secretary of "Educatuon," whose official Twitter feed once misspelled the name of black intellectual "W.E.B. DeBois" before tweeting "our deepest apologizes."

3. ...and the first ever SOTU with naming rights.
On the Monday before the speech, the president's reelection campaign rolled out a gimmick to sell naming rights to the State of the Union. Donors could pay to see their names float luminously over the "Official Donald J. Trump for President livestream" of the State of the Union. The sales pitch read: "This is a movement. It's not about just one of us. It's about ALL of us. Which is why your name deserves to be displayed during Tuesday night's speech" – all for the low, low donation of $35.

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