TRUMP’S SOTU SPEECH GAVE US LITTLE TO PRAISE

 

…The women Democrats in the House made a big impression by all dressing in white

Even Trump had to acknowledge the increase of women in Congress from the mid-term election.

Well, it’s the day after the president’s 2^nd State of the Union (SOTU) address. One of the outrageous sounds of silence was the lack of applause when the president hit on some of his priority issues such as the border wall.  The other obvious demonstrations were that the Democratic women in congress decided to show their unity by all of them wearing all white outfits and by sitting together in the hall.  Even the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi wore a white tailored outfit which was so obvious while sitting behind the president.  But more on this item later.

The president also made a very “off-the-wall” comment of denouncing what he described as a rise of Socialism in the United States…huh?  Maybe he sees those people that are pushing for Medicare for All or the support of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as being some sort of socialistic move.  That’s just stupid, but it does sound like something from Trump’s Senior Advisor and speech writer, Stephen Miller.

The Democrats also worked hard at not listening to a lying president such as his comment that because of a wall on the border outside El Paso, Texas, it was one of the safest cities in the US.  Actually, the crime rate in El Paso went up last year. 

But those in the audience offered everything from blank stares, to texting or using social media for ignoring the president's SOTU speech.

One other lying example was Trump’s description that there was a “ tremendous onslaught of immigrants at the southern border” and that the US Congress should “protect our homeland”.  Even the Border Patrol personnel have stated that they could use some more personnel and that there were some areas where a wall could be helpful, but that the number of immigrants attempting to cross the border had seriously declined.

I will say that most of the members of Congress did stand and applauded when President Trump highlighted women's electoral gains during the mid-terms.

But let’s look at what went wrong with the president’s SOTU speech.

Trump called for bipartisanship.  Yes, this president totally glossed over the past three and a half years. Whatever you think of Trump’s politics, he has only pursued a political strategy of dividing the public as he focused only on his base of supporters.  Many of those political “divisions” and “wounds” did pre-date Trump, but he has increased them with an uncompromising and controversial style that supports “culture wars” while humiliating those who run up against of him.

Now that the Democrats control the House, they know that Trump needs them.  If any of them think he truly means this idea of bipartisan ship, Trump has tried this kind of language before, and he has never maintained a bipartisanship posture for any extended period.

It was interesting that Trump, as expected, did call once again for a border wall, but this time he didn’t demand it as he has before.  The 35-day shutdown that Trump forced for border-wall funding is over, but the issue is not settled, and the two sides appear as entrenched as ever ahead of the Feb. 15 deadline.

A big question going into Tuesday was how much Trump would press for the wall. He did ... but only kind of.

While Trump emphasized the wall in a substantial section of the speech, he didn’t talk about it in terms of an ultimatum.  Instead, he pitched it as something that he wanted. “In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall — but the proper wall never got built,” Trump said. “I’ll get it built.”

Trump added: “It will be deployed in the areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need, and as these agents will tell you, where walls go up, illegal crossings go way down.”

As a candidate, Trump promised a wall along the whole border, that Mexico would pay for. But in recent weeks, he has said Democrats must also now, agree to pay for it.  However, he said neither in his STOU speech.  Nor did he address whether he’ll declare a national emergency to try to build it, which is highly controversial even among Republicans.

In his speech, Trump provided a couple of brief nods to his previously expressed intentions. “As a candidate for president, I pledged a new approach,” he said. “Great nations do not fight endless wars.”  He added: “Now, as we work with our allies to destroy the remnants of ISIS, it is time to give our brave warriors in Syria a warm welcome home.”

This is not the same as what Trump usually says such as, “We’re withdrawing by such-and-such date,” but as with many of Trump’s plans, it’s always subject to change.  For some reason Trump decided to include this in one of his most important of speeches….?  

So, is this a real marker for his real intentions?

Trump did bring up some subjects that we must all cross our fingers that he is serious about doing something positive.

While bipartisanship will be a very tough sell over the next two years, especially given the past two years, and with the 2020 presidential campaign already getting off the ground.  But Trump did highlight two areas where logic suggests it’s at least possible: infrastructure and drug prices.

“Both parties should be able to unite for a great rebuilding of America’s crumbling infrastructure,” Trump said, bringing up a long-promised issue that thus far has not been prioritized by the GOP-controlled Congress of the past two years.

Trump added about prescription drugs: “It is unacceptable that Americans pay vastly more than people in other countries for the exact same drugs, often made in the exact same place,” Trump said. “This is wrong, unfair, and together we can stop it.”

However, Trump has hit on these themes before during the 2016 campaign, but they disappeared since he became president.

Now, if the two sides take either of these issues them up it will tell us all whether there’s any hope for truly bipartisan legislation in 2019. These are the starting points if he meant anything of what he said in the SOTU.

As I had mentioned, many of the female members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opted to wear all white.  It was a true showing of party and female unity, and it was visually stunning as it reinforced the divide between the two parties when it comes to gender diversity.

The most bipartisan and explosive moment of the night came when Trump actually saluted the record number of women in the new Congress.

Trump stated: “All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before,” he said, which drew a surprised, positive reaction from the Democrats, “and exactly one century after the Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before.”

What will eventually be the outcome from the STOU speech is still a big question.

The response from the Democrats by Stacey Abrams was much shorter than Trump's 82 minute SOTU and she made it clear that she the president needs to stop lying to the American public.  She also said that the greatness of America is due to our attitude for welcoming immigrants, not by the building of border walls.

Abrams response was extremely clear and it took what the president said and basically said it is time to stop the blame game and to start working honestly for the benefit of the American people, not against them.

I don’t think that Trump is capable of telling the truth and perhaps Robert Muller III's investigation will eventually put Trump in a position that he will have to, or to go to jail.

We can only hope.

Copyright G. Ater 2018