Fox propagandists were working overtime on the day before Pres. Joe Biden's first State of the Union address to tank it before it even happened. Harris Faulkner even blamed him for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, before talking about his poll numbers, which, of course, they painted as abysmal.

"We know that that backdrop is dim. War in Ukraine — on HIS watch. Maybe he could have done more, maybe he couldn't. It's on his watch. Multiple crises at home, on his watch."

Funny how somehow the violent insurrection by thousands of GOP Fox-watching MAGAts happened under Trump's watch — hell, at his insistence! — but I don't recall Fox hacks focusing the blame and attention on him at the time. Nor did they talk about HIS horrendous poll numbers.

Biden is actually having phenomenal success. COVID rates are going down, vaccination rates are going up, the economy is recovering like a badass, and thanks to his savvy foreign policy knowledge and impeccably curated staff of advisers, Biden has helped unite the world against Putin — INCLUDING REPUBLICANS. As a matter of fact, Fox has been getting fact-checked on that subject all over the place in the last couple of weeks, including the aforementioned Harris Faulkner.

Towards the end, though, Pete Hegseth opened his mouth to drop this pile of turd-pellets:

I don't envy the White House speech writer whose task it is to take the last year and a half and try to make it look rosy. I mean, look at that AP headline. That correctly depicts the state of America both at home and abroad. If he wants to talk about what’s happening in Ukraine, what will he say other than the things we told you would deter it didn't work? If he wants to talk about Afghanistan, he’ll say what he said in the past, which is it was going to be this way no matter what, no matter who ended the war. Which, anyone who had been there, or who had seen it, knew that's not true. It certainly didn't have to end that way.

And then, here at home, he's -- what Lee Zeldin said is right. And, I was at CPAC this weekend talking to conservatives and young people, and they said yes, what is happening in Ukraine is important. But it pales in comparison to the crime I see in my streets, to the wokeness I see in my culture, to the inflation I see at my pocket book, to the real border I care about, which is the southern border, which is wide open. On every single issue, the quality of life of average Americans has gone down.

So, let's get this straight. Hegseth claimed that "wokeness" in America is worse —worse! — than what's going on in Ukraine! Becoming a refugee from the home you've known all your life, having children and grandmothers targeted by Russian missiles, seeing your neighbors putting their bodies in front of Russian tanks to stop their forward progress "pales in comparison" to your office-mate adding pronouns to their LinkedIn profile. "Pales in comparison" to having to pay $4 per gallon for gas instead of $3.

These Ukrainians don't know how great they have it! At least they don't have to deal with a "real border" that Hegseth cares about - the one that brown people might cross. Hell, if the Ukrainians are white, it should be easy for them to cross a border and get to safety, right? It's a fun adventure, like camping, probably! At least they don't have to let a boy compete in their daughter's tennis match. THAT'S oppression, baby. THAT's suffering. Hegseth would know real suffering, man.

Biden's State of the Union speech knocked it out of the park, by the way, marking the first time in YEARS the entire chamber rose to cheer and applaud TOGETHER about the same thing. (Sidenote: Which WH reporter will be the first to ask again about Biden bringing "unity" back to Washington? I'm taking bets.)

And the CBS poll taken after the SOTU had 78% of those who saw the speech saying they approved, including 21% of Republicans. 82% said Biden's economic policies will either help them, or not adversely affect them. And 71% said Biden's policies will deal effectively with Russia.

Any chance Hegseth and Faulkner will talk about THAT polling? Don't hold your breath.