{"id":2573046,"date":"2026-02-24T13:46:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T18:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-lawmaker-spurns-trump-critics-ahead-of-state-of-the-union\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:47:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T18:47:36","slug":"florida-lawmaker-spurns-trump-critics-ahead-of-state-of-the-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-lawmaker-spurns-trump-critics-ahead-of-state-of-the-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida lawmaker spurns Trump critics ahead of State of the Union"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflorida-lawmaker-spurns-trump-critics-ahead-of-state-of-the-union%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573046&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>&#8211; Florida Rep. Brian Mast defended Donald Trump ahead of the State of the Union, arguing that Americans can be proud of a president who achieved what many thought impossible and who will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/storm-the-capitol-msnbcs-chris-hayes-mocks-gop-2022-congressional-candidates\/\" title=\"\u2018Storm The Capitol\u2019: MSNBC\u2019s Chris Hayes Mocks GOP 2022 Congressional Candidates\">deliver real results<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Mast praised Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-speaks-ahead-of-biden-address-says-biden-admin-seems-to-have-given-up-on-selling-actual-unity\/\" title=\"McConnell Speaks Ahead Of Biden ..., Says Biden Admin \u2018Seems To Have Given Up On Selling Actual Unity\u2019\">foreign policy actions<\/a>, including ending the war in gaza, the operation against Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, and military strikes on Iranian facilities, framing these as signs of decisive leadership and a focus on US interests.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; He argued that Trump has strengthened America\u2019s standing abroad and defended sovereignty, urging that geopolitics is \u201chardball\u201d and that the president should be judged by outcomes rather then classroom debates.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Mast also touted the management\u2019s defense posture and criticized \u201cwoke\u201d DEI policies, claiming a return to prioritizing national security and lethal capability.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece notes that the timing of Trump\u2019s State of the Union is seen by some as a low point in his second term,with Democrats using various developments (including a Supreme Court decision on tariffs and immigration-related incidents) to criticize him,while Republicans face affordability concerns ahead of the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Some Democrats, including a portion of the Senate, plan to boycott Trump\u2019s address, highlighting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/harris-calls-role-in-certifying-trump-win-a-sacred-obligation-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Harris calls role in certifying ... win a \u2018sacred obligation\u2019 ... Washington Examiner\">contentious political backdrop surrounding<\/a> the speech.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Florida Republican deflects Trump critics ahead of State of the Union: &lsquo;Americans can take pride&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2514826\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) on Tuesday sought to ward off attacks on President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>, ahead of the chief executive&rsquo;s looming address to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/state-of-the-union\/\">joint session <\/a>of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The entire world will be watching,&rdquo; Mast wrote in a <em>Newsweek<\/em> op-ed. &ldquo;What it will see is a president who did what many didn&rsquo;t think was possible.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4469275\/house-vote-rotor-act-pentagon-opposition-dc-crash\/\">House set to vote on aviation safety bill amid Pentagon pushback<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4469209\/nancy-mace-tony-gonzales-sexual-harassment-congress-text-messages\/\">Nancy Mace demands release of congressional sexual harassment records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469196\/us-men-olympic-hockey-team-attend-trump-state-of-the-union\/\">US men&#8217;s gold-winning Olympic hockey team to attend Trump&#8217;s State of the Union<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The timing of Trump&rsquo;s State of the Union speech is viewed by some as coming at <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4468567\/trump-state-of-the-union-low-second-presidency\/\">a low point<\/a> of his second term in office. The Supreme Court&rsquo;s move to strike down Trump&rsquo;s sweeping &ldquo;Liberation Day&rdquo; tariffs last Friday and two Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related killings in Minnesota, which prompted the White House to wind down its federal immigration surge in the state earlier this year, have been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469101\/trump-state-of-the-union-democrats-not-going\/\">used by Democrats<\/a> as fodder for fire against the incumbent president and his party. Affordability has also remained <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/4468436\/trump-economic-talking-points-state-union\/\">a sticking point <\/a>for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>Mast rejected dire assessments of Trump&rsquo;s presidency this week. As chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he hailed Trump&rsquo;s leadership on a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >foreign policy points<\/a>, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3829269\/trump-20-point-plan-end-war-gaza\/\">ending the war in Gaza<\/a>, a &ldquo;feat&rdquo; the lawmaker said &ldquo;no one else could have achieved.&rdquo; Mast pointed to Trump&rsquo;s extraordinary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4400782\/general-razin-caine-divulges-details-on-trump-venezuela-operation\/\">military operation <\/a>targeting former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro as sending a &ldquo;loud&rdquo; message against drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The president&rsquo;s move to authorize <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3451220\/mike-pence-praises-trump-iran-strikes-decisive-leadership\/\">military strikes<\/a> on three Iranian nuclear facilities last summer was another indicator that he favors &ldquo;action&rdquo; above &ldquo;half-measures&rdquo; and &ldquo;empty warnings,&rdquo; Mast said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As the State of the Union approaches, Americans can take pride in this: we have a president who fights for our security, defends our sovereignty, and delivers real results,&rdquo; the Florida lawmaker <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/rep-brian-mast-donald-trump-has-done-the-impossible-opinion-11567333\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;He understands that geopolitics isn&rsquo;t a classroom debate&mdash;it&rsquo;s hardball. And he plays to win for the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Some of Trump&rsquo;s actions, including his move to oust Maduro and bring him to stand trial in New York on narco-terrorism charges, have received pushback due to concerns that they marked an abuse of presidential power. Amid the scrutiny, a host of Democrats, including nearly a quarter of the opposition&rsquo;s senators, have announced plans to boycott Trump&rsquo;s high-profile speech to Congress on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4461026\/trump-2-record-sparse-black-voter-policy-wins-anti-dei\/\"><strong>TRUMP&rsquo;S SECOND TERM RECORD SHOWS SPARSE BLACK VOTER POLICY WINS IN ANTI-DEI AGE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mast said Trump&rsquo;s &ldquo;decisive actions&rdquo; have helped &ldquo;restore America&rsquo;s standing on the world stage and make it clear that we&rsquo;re done apologizing for defending our interests.&rdquo; And he praised the president&rsquo;s Pentagon for expanding the defense budget and promoting the &ldquo;eradication of woke DEI policies and a total refocus on lethality.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;America is back, stronger than ever, and we won&rsquo;t apologize for it,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;For too long, our foreign policy establishment chased global approval instead of defending American interests. Under President Trump&rsquo;s direction, the State Department is getting back to basics&mdash;advancing U.S. priorities and putting American citizens first.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mast backs Trump before SOTU, says Americans proud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2573047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26006059117470.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5113,3914,74074,3634],"class_list":["post-2573046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-florida","tag-lawmaker","tag-stateoftheunion","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26006059117470.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573046"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573050,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573046\/revisions\/2573050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}