which he delivered to Congress on Tuesday (2/24) night, is the one that draws the biggest audience every year, and this year is election time due to the midterm elections in November.
That’s why the US president addressed his audience, aiming to reverse his declining approval ratings and growing dissatisfaction with his policies, especially on the economy and immigration. He presented a rosy picture of reality in – using exaggerations, inaccuracies and lies – and described a country that is prosperous, safe and “winning”.
Divisive Trump – He didn’t speak to the nation, he spoke to his base
He made no attempt to appear unifying, to market himself as the president of “all Americans”. In fact, he called the Democrats “crazy”. Although he repeatedly appealed to the people and the common people, even saying that “the government is accountable to the people, not to the powerful”, in reality he was divisive and appealed exclusively to his base, which he sees shrinking.
He also made no mention of the US’s friends and allies, even though he called it a “new friend and partner” with which Washington had no diplomatic relations until now.
He was applauded 114 times – Lots of spectacle, little substance
Although his speech broke records for length, most of it was applause rather than substance. The president himself stopped his speech almost every couple of sentences, waiting for applause – which he once directly asked for, demanding that whoever “puts Americans first” stand up and applaud.
We counted that congressional Republicans stood and applauded Trump 114 (!) times during the nearly two-hour speech.
The State of the Nation address felt more like a TV show than a political speech.
Trump punctuated his polarizing remarks by handing out medals and honors to select figures in the audience gallery, from the U.S. hockey team that took home a gold medal at the Winter Olympics to a veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars who will turn 100 this year on July 4, when the U.S. closes 250 years since their independence.
“Alejandra, come see your uncle” – The strategy behind the show
The “show” even included the surprise arrival of a Venezuelan who was released from prison in Caracas, after the American intervention and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump himself announced him and he walked into Congress and fell into the arms of his niece, who wasn’t expecting him – like a TV show where the curtain opens and the beloved uncle that his relatives have been missing for years appears. “Alejandra Gonzalez, we brought your uncle,” Trump told the niece from the podium. “We are glad to have you with us Enrique,” he said to the uncle.
The State of the Nation address offered nothing new in terms of policies to be implemented — except to announce that Vice President Jay D. Vance will lead the “war on corruption.”
The irony of a president whose family has benefited more from his time in the White House than any of his predecessors is posing as an anti-corruption fighter in Congress, pushing through a bill that would prevent its members from taking advantage of insider information to enrich themselves — though critics say it’s full of “loopholes.”
Although short on substance, the speech was full of catchy slogans: this is “America’s golden age”, we are “the hottest country”, we are “a team of winners”, “I love Americans”, “we want homes for the people, not for business”.
He claimed he would bring back the , banned by the Supreme Court, which would bring in so much money that “tariffs will replace taxes” for “the people I love.”
From gaslighting to gathering the base
Trump appeared deeply populist and did what Americans call gaslighting, i.e. he presented black and white.
“There’s a mother in Pennsylvania who homeschools her kids and works as a waitress. She’s here today to tell you how much richer she’s become (including in one year of the Trump administration!) thanks to the tax cuts. Megan, please stand up. We’re fighting for you,” he said to the woman in the gallery. He advised her, like other Americans, to “go to trumpaccounts.gov” — “I didn’t call them Trump Accounts, others did,” he clarified — to take advantage of the $1,000 the Treasury Department will deposit into investment accounts for each newborn during his four-year term.
When referring to the reduction in drug prices he claims to have achieved – “from the highest drug prices in the world today we have the lowest” – he addressed another woman sitting in the gallery: “Kathryn Reiner paid less than $500 for IVF when she would have paid $4,000. Get up Katherine! Happy pregnancy.”
The “star” Melania and the 8(?) wars
Trump called her, who was sitting in the gallery, a “movie star” because of a documentary about her life funded by Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, and Charlie Kirk, who was murdered last September, a “martyr.” “Erica, please get up,” he said to his widow.
Finally, but he admitted that “it is difficult to put an end to the Russia-Ukraine war”.
