SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego-area Democratic and Republican leaders offered starkly different assessments of President Trump's State of the Union address — the first of his second term.
ABC 10News spoke with two leaders in the local political arena: Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, and Corey Gustafson, former chair of the Republican Party of San Diego.
When asked whether Trump's speech accurately reflected the current state of the union, Gustafson offered a positive assessment.
"Absolutely. I mean, look, I think if you compare where we are now, compared to 4 years ago, America's made great progress," Gustafson said.
Rodriguez-Kennedy was more dismissive.
"This is just theater, and the reality is that we are ready to send a message in 2026 and correct the course of this country," Rodriguez-Kennedy said.
The address comes during a pivotal year in politics, which could see a shakeup in Congress, where Republicans currently hold a majority in both the Senate and the House.
When asked whether the speech addressed the biggest concerns voters have right now, Rodriguez-Kennedy argued the address avoided kitchen-table issues.
"They want to talk about, like, immigration. They want to talk about war in some other country. They want to talk about invading some other country. Like, they want to talk about everything but what is happening in everyday Americans' lives. And so this speech won't have much of an effect on the midterms," Rodriguez-Kennedy said.
Gustafson pushed back on the idea that the midterms would be unfavorable for Republicans, pointing to Democratic behavior during the address.
"A lot of people are saying that the midterms aren't favorable to Republicans, but that was before the entire Democratic caucus tonight wouldn't stand up and say that they want to put American citizens before illegal immigrants. This is before the Democratic caucus would not applaud for the Trump savings account, which is going to put thousands of dollars in the hands of children in America," Gustafson said.
Sen. Alex Padilla, the senior U.S. senator from California, also addressed the upcoming midterm elections when delivering the Democratic response to Trump's address in Spanish.
"Donald Trump is trying to steal the midterm elections. He has signed executive orders intended to prevent millions of eligible voters from exercising their right to vote and has hinted at using ICE agents at polling places to intimidate them. These are tactics we have seen in other countries ruled by corrupt dictators, and like them, Donald Trump is afraid of losing power. He is afraid to admit that his policies have failed and that voters will reject his agenda this November," Padilla said.
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