By BARBARA HOWARD

On February 28, 2017, President Donald P. Trump presented his first speech to the joint houses of Congress. To most of the pundits and his fans it was not only the best speech he had given since becoming POTUS, it was the best any president had ever given.

But there was such a mass look of anger and hatred on every Democrat’s face in the chamber you would have thought he had just run over all their beloved dogs. And their faces were frozen like that almost the entire length of the speech with only a few exceptions.

Even during the two standing ovations for the grieving widow of fallen Navy Seal William Ryan Owens, the Democrats sat on their hands. Oh, they stood initially when President Trump recognized Carryn Owens, but they immediately sat back down.

Move America Forward –“Supporting Our Troops and Their Missions in the War on Terror” commented that they thought it was Trump’s “finest moment. He was rightly thanking the widow of one of America’s heroes for the service and sacrifice her husband made for our country.”

The sole Navy Seal veteran to serve in Congress, Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.) said “It was the most powerful thing I have ever seen.”

Yet the response from well-known liberals Michael Moore and Bill Maher was the exact opposite. On the Chris Matthews Show on MSNBC, Moore (who has called Trump voters “legal terrorists” in a Rolling Stone interview) and Maher, slammed Trump for even having Mrs. Owens there. They referred to her as a prop which Trump used.

There were other signs of total disrespect by the Democrats during Trump’s speech.

Trump opened with saluting Black History Month and condemning “hate and evil in all of its ugly forms.” From there he spoke about issues, many supposedly close to liberals’ hearts – paid family leave, women’s health, clean air and water.

Yet nobody stood, nobody clapped – they sat with stoic expressions of disgust. All one had to do was to look at the faces of this one row of top ranking Democrats: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D – Md.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D – Md.) and Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D – S.C.). The hateful scowls said it all.

Trump preached unity and joining forces between both sides of the aisles. He called on Republicans and Democrats to work together, but Democrats wouldn’t smile nor clap.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D – N.Y.) said there was “nothing in Trump’s speech that he could support.” Rep. Joseph Crowley (D – N.Y.) called his entire agenda “Hateful and Hateful.”

Pelosi’s response was “The President’s speech was utterly disconnected from the cruel reality of his conduct.” This was as she and the rest of the Democratic women sat there dressed all in white to celebrate women’s rights. Why? What did I miss?

CNN’s poll said almost 80% of their listeners had a positive reaction to Trump’s speech, yet their news commentators gave it all negative spin. Larry Sabado said “A speech is just a speech;” yet these same liberals fawned over every speech Obama gave when he was POTUS. Even Obama’s Communist friend, Van Jones, had to admit Trump’s speech was “presidential”. One of my biggest disappointing moments was when Trump talked about education reform and saluted a young black woman, Tanisha Merriweather from Jacksonville, but the Democrats wouldn’t even stand and clap for her.

She later said on FOX News she hated going to school and failed the third grade several times. But her godmother sent her to a charter school and now she graduates with a Master’s degree in May. She agrees with former President George W. Bush that education reform is the civil rights’ issue of this century.

The Rev. H. K. Matthews says “this shouldn’t be aligned with parties and politics should not play a part.”

Tell that to Democrats, who’ve called Republicans “Irredeemable Deplorables.” After watching them behave at Trump’s speech, I wonder who’s irredeemable.