The Democratic response to the State of the Union by President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE proves that they are not interested in unity or bipartisanship. Instead, the Democrats continue their campaign of obstruction and radicalism, using dirty tactics that have contributed to political divisiveness and gridlock in Washington. This is not at all what the country needs for more success.

During the State of the Union this week, President Trump welcomed the opportunity to work alongside the Democrats, urging lawmakers from both parties to solve our national challenges. “Together, we can break decades of political stalemate,” he said. “We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future. The decision is ours to make.”

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His optimistic vision comes from his desire to build a prosperous country where every citizen has a chance to succeed. That is why he struck a unifying tone, focusing on policies that will help all Americans without igniting more fierce political battles. “Millions of our fellow citizens are watching us now, gathered in this great chamber, hoping that we will govern not as two parties but as one nation,” President Trump noted to our lawmakers. “The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or a Democratic agenda. It is the agenda of the American people.”

But bipartisanship only works if both sides are willing to negotiate in good faith and leave partisan politics behind. Sadly for America, the Democrats showed they are not interested in what President Trump had to say about unity and prosperity. Even before the president delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Chuck SchumerJacobin editor: Primarying Schumer would force him to fight Trump's SCOTUS nominee CNN's Toobin: Democrats are 'wimps' who won't 'have the guts' to add Supreme Court seats Republican senator says plans to confirm justice before election 'completely consistent with the precedent' MORE preemptively dismissed everything he had to say. “Knowing this president, he will then make some bold new promises and not even make an attempt to fulfill them,” he declared. “The man has so little integrity that a promise that he makes at the State of the Union means nothing the next morning.”

Predictably, the Democratic response to the State of the Union, delivered by Stacey Abrams of Georgia, adhered to the same theme, rejecting the new call for bipartisanship in Congress. “Making livelihoods of our federal workers a pawn for political games is a disgrace,” she said. “The shutdown was a stunt, engineered by the president of the United States.” Abrams slammed the middle class tax cuts, absurdly claiming that they “rigged the system against working people.” Contrary to her remarks that the tax cuts caused stagnant wage growth, the booming economy and surging labor market are both driving the fastest wage growth in a generation.

“Under the current administration, far too many Americans are falling behind, living paycheck to paycheck,” Abrams questionably said, adding with visible horror that most do not even have labor unions to “protect” them. She did trot out the word “bipartisan” in a futile effort to match the unifying tone of President Trump, but she quickly made clear that in the minds of Democrats, bipartisanship just means that Republicans should abandon their principles and embrace the progressive socialist agenda.

The political posture of the Democratic Party is a sad sight to behold. For more than two years, they have used obstructionist tactics to undermine the White House agenda with no regard for the needs of the American people. On Tuesday evening, President Trump set a tone for real unity and bipartisanship that would drive our country forward. Instead of accepting his outstretched hand to work together, the Democrats tried to bite it.

Candace Owens is the communications director for Turning Point USA.