Call me a masochist. I watched all of Trump’s State-of-the-Union speech. The President painted a picture of the nation as he wanted to see it. It was a swirling mix of fantasy, twisted rhetoric and outright lies. We’ve heard his shameless exaggerations about how many wars he has ended, how he has lowered drug prices by up to 600 percent (they’re paying us to buy them now?) and how crooked our elections (the 2020 one, not the 2024 one) are. Nothing new there.

Trump pronounced ours the Golden Age of America, but he displayed a tin ear for the struggles of so many Americans to pay their bills, afford health care and keep their electricity on. Admittedly, his sunny account of the American economy echoed Joe Biden’s last SOTUS: spin the numbers in ways that don’t match what two thirds of the American people are actually experiencing.

The President seemed to be looking through the wrong end of the telescope on his key issues: the price of food and electricity, which remain high; immigration, which has largely shut down illegals at the southern border but has had poorly trained ICE thugs violating civil rights, making warrantless arrests, locking up children and killing at least two U.S. citizens; and violent crime, which had already been declining for several years. His broad claims about economic growth, individual income and inflation don’t measure up against the facts.

On the eve of the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding, Trump made absolutely no effort to reach out rhetorically to heal the deep divisions in our country. A feature of the record-setting long address was Trump’s contemptible derision of the Democrats sitting stone-faced in front of him. The Democrats were in a no-win situation. Stay away and be ignored, or stay there and be abused. Except for Representatives Ilhan Omar (MN) and Talib Rashid (MI), who caved to his taunts by yelling back, and Al Green (TX) who, holding a sign, was ejected for refusing to sit down, Dems from House and Senate showed admirable restraint, reflecting respect for the institution if not for the Chief Executive. Their composure seemed to get under his skin, as he feverishly yelled at them, “These people are crazy.”  Behind him, like dutiful puppets, Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson strained their quads by standing repeatedly to applaud.

I was appalled by Trump’s failure to speak to Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s lethal aggression, the fourth anniversary of which occurred that very day. Any other President, Democrat or Republican, would have noted this country’s stated reverence for democracies around the world. His sustained embrace of tariffs, despite the opposition of two thirds of the American people, and his fanciful prediction that they would one day come to replace the income tax as a revenue source were mind-boggling. I also wondered, if we had totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear threat, just why are we poised to use our armada against them right now?

As performative art, Trump did well – for Trump. He mostly stuck to the speech on the teleprompter, a credit, no doubt, to his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. They made clever use of the gallery, especially in trying to regain the high ground on immigration, repeatedly sharing grizzly stories about the killings of innocent Americans by violent individuals in the country illegally.  They effectively used as props numerous “heroes,” including the gold winning U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Two Medals of Honor were given to distinguished military people, one a WWII navy pilot for his courage during the Korean War and  the other, the lead helicopter pilot injured in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The strategy effectively forced Democrats to rise with the Republicans in rounds of applause.

After nearly two mind-numbing hours, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger’s 12-minute Democratic response to the speech was taut, cogent and on message. Each topic, from immigration to tariffs to the economy, was highlighted by the personal question, do you feel more secure? Are you better able to afford?  

The Democrats have done well with the affordability issue during the off-season special elections. Eventually, they will need to spell out details about what they actually plan to do and what they offer as an alternative to the mirage the President was selling last night. So why did I stay up past my bedtime to watch a live speech that will probably be worth only one news cycle?

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