Katie Britt's SOTU 2024 Rebuttal Draws Hallmark Comparisons For All The Wrong Reasons

People like Hallmark movies because of the warm and fuzzy feelings they evoke. Even the most hard-hearted person has to agree that there's something incredibly sweet about two people falling in love against all odds (over the course of 90-ish minutes, and usually with a holiday-themed twist). However, when Republican Senator Katie Britt gave a speech following President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address, it drew comparisons to Hallmark for all the wrong reasons.

I’ve watched thousands of hours of political videos in the past 20 years and I have never seen anything like Senator Katie Britt’s rebuttal to the State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/aMN5Q7hJn8

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 8, 2024

Britt's rebuttal aired on Fox News, and an excerpt was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the video, she plasters on a large, unnatural smile and speaks in a strange cadence, waxing poetic about the American Dream. Then she sobers up and says it's become "a nightmare." Her facial expression in the excerpt switches from that unsettling smile to a disturbed look (that viewers have probably seen in their favorite Hallmark movies, when a complication temporarily drives the two leads apart).

X users have taken to the platform after State of the Union addresses, and Britt's rebuttal speech also sparked lots of conversations on social media. People on both sides of the political spectrum agreed that Britt's speech felt like a Hallmark performance.

One X user called Katie Britt's speech "lame" and added, "Comes across as fake. This theatrical BS is why people hate politics. Just talk to us like a normal human being." They felt former President Donald Trump should have done the rebuttal instead.

Another X user said, "Katie Britt's response was a mixture of an episode of the Hallmark show, 'When Calls the Heart' and one of those save the animals commercials with Sarah McLachlan playing in the background. It was awful." It's likely the Hearties, or diehard "When Calls the Heart" fans that helped keep the show on the air, would say the acting on the show is leagues better. Someone else seemed to mix up Hallmark with Lifetime, a network that balances feel-good family movies with some twisted thrillers. They said, "Man this felt like watching a serial killer mom on the hallmark network. Creepy smiles."

While being interviewed by MSNBC, political analyst Brendan Buck was asked about the Republican rebuttal and said, "It was interesting." He didn't believe that someone else should've taken Britt's place, but said, "I think the delivery was unfortunate. She was clearly overcoached." If you need a break from politics and strange speeches, you can find some legitimate feel-good content to consume with The List's ranking of most popular Hallmark movies.