“I mean, this was the most presidential speech Donald Trump has ever given,” the twice-failed GOP presidential candidate told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, citing the president’s “solemn” tone.
Santorum, a frequent defender of Trump, also rejected CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s earlier assertion that the speech was actually a State of the Base ― in other words, a direct message to Trump’s supporters rather than the country as a whole.
Acosta acknowledged the “heartwarming moments” during the speech, but noted Trump’s “deeply divisive rhetoric aimed at immigrants, aimed at Latinos.”
“I mean the idea that this was a base speech, as if this was some sort of rally speech, it was not a base speech,” argued Santorum. “I mean, yeah, he talked about things his administration is doing and wants to do, just like every president does, and you don’t go out and say, ‘Well that’s a base speech.’”
