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Trump Kept Clapping For Himself At The State Of The Union & Twitter Is Screaming

by Bernadette Deron
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address on Jan. 30, and throughout the speech there was one particular thing he did that Twitter couldn't help but notice. I'm not sure if it's customary for the president to pat himself on the back while lauding his own perceived successes during his State of the Union address, but that's exactly what our current president did. Trump would not stop clapping for himself during his State of the Union address, and Twitter absolutely roasted him for it. (Can you blame them?)

Trump kicked off the night by touting his successes as president in the first year since's he has taken office. He discussed economic prosperity, record unemployment lows, and rising wages, among other things. He also praised the new GOP tax bill that officially passed on Dec. 20, 2017. And while he was singing his own praises and looking lovingly at the crowd of his supporters (well, one side of the crowd) standing and clapping for his achievements, it seemed as though there is one thing he couldn't help but do — clap for himself. And naturally, the Twitterverse could not help but notice.

Twitter users absolutely destroyed Trump for clapping for himself during his address.

I don't exactly remember correctly, but I'm not sure it is exactly presidential to clap for yourself during your own State of the Union address. Twitter definitely thinks when Trump did tonight when clapping for himself equates to the same level of narcissism of an Oscar nominee clapping for him or herself when their own name is announced during the awards show, but hey, who are we to judge, I guess?

In Trump's eyes, there is a lot to clap about. Throughout his first State of the Union, he applauded his administration (verbally and physically, by way of clapping directly into the microphone) and painted a very positive portrait of what he has done while in office.

He started off the night by saying,

That night, our new administration had already taken very swift action. A new tide of optimism was already sweeping across our land. Each day since, we have gone forward with a clear vision and a righteous mission, to make America great again for all Americans.

In another moment of self-praise, Trump took a direct hit at Obama and congratulated himself and the Republicans for repealing Obamacare, after many, many attempts. Trump said, “We repealed the core of the disastrous Obamacare — the individual mandate is now gone,” to a roaring applause from his supporters.

Trump also praised the new GOP tax bill that was passed on Dec. 20, 2017. He lauded all the good that the bill has done since its passing, although the true success and/or failure of the GOP's tax reform has yet to be seen. Trump stated,

Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses -- many of them thousands of dollars per worker. Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America, and hire another 20,000 workers.This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream.

So if you're looking at this first year as president through Trump's eyes, there seems to be lots of reason to celebrate. But at the end of the day, Trump is the president and it is his job to act presidential — which, to the best of our knowledge, does unfortunately not include aggressively clapping for his accomplishments during one of the most important speeches he'll give in the calendar year. So while Trump may have given a seemingly overall poised speech, his mannerisms proved that not matter what platform he's given, Trump's still gonna be Trump.