Gordon L. Weil
President Trump’s State of the Union Address took on many characteristics
of the schoolkid’s game of checkers.
In that game, if your piece reaches the other side of the board,
the piece is “kinged.” Trump wants himself
or his policies to be kinged. Each of
his proposals or actions is a piece that could go all the way to become a
king.
While he extols the success of some of his policies, none
has moved even halfway across the board, because they all lack majority approval. His claims for historic success don’t match
the record.
“Our nation is back: bigger, better, richer and stronger
than ever before,” he asserted. But the
Wall Street Journal reported: “Polls find that Americans are unhappy with
Trump’s handling of the economy.” It noted
that “last month, voters gave the president low marks when asked if he cares
about ‘people like you’….”
The Address was the latest version of the Trump campaign
speech. According to him, everything
positive was his doing; everything negative was the Democrats’ fault. Many voters may want less partisanship, but
compromise was not part of Trump’s message, any more than concern for average
people. Trump’s a salesman, who seeks to
convince people of his product’s merits.
He made his case was by selling America First nationalism as
patriotism. The U.S. Men’s Ice Hockey
Team, the Olympic champions, allowed themselves to be put on display. Republican legislators chanted, “USA, USA!”
But an American victory on Olympic ice only momentarily overshadowed
ICE killings of Americans. Trump has
controlled illegal immigration, but at the cost of his policy being severely
degraded by the crude abuses of individual rights by hastily trained ICE
agents. He has had to retreat, hoping to
calm public ire.
Still, he tried to embarrass the Democrats. “If you agree with this statement, then
stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to
protect American citizens. Not illegal aliens,” he said. Many Democrats remained seated. The Constitution assures equal treatment to
all, not only citizens. And Americans in
Minneapolis weren’t protected.
While polls are not as accurate as often claimed, they can
identify trends. On average, polls show
about 60 percent of people are dissatisfied with Trump. Given the history of the president’s party usually
losing House seats in mid-term elections, that could well mean that next year’s
Address will find him introduced by a Democratic House Speaker.
Seated before him were four Supreme Court justices, just
after the Court had rejected his use of tariffs. In his ruling, the Chief Justice was thought
to have signaled
that the courts are set to be less compliant to Trump than Congress.
But Trump loves tariffs.
Though they are not
working, he suggests that they can produce enough income to replace the
income tax. This is pure fantasy. What is real is that they are fueling some
inflation.
On all other issues, voters rate Trump negatively. His tax reform has increased the deficit but
not helped average people. He seems to
believe that tariff revenues will solve spending problems, but he overpromises. Meanwhile, people have a tough time making
ends meet. A soaring stock market may
work for the wealthy, but not for most voters.
The Democratic policy is based on the hope that Trump will
defeat himself. The party lacks a coherent
alternative and a single, charismatic spokesperson. Presidential candidate posturing and the
phony rivalry between progressives and moderates who can work together for a common
goal are both blocking a positive policy.
The party’s response to Trump’s Address showed that a unifying
and forceful alternative is possible. It
came from newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger. Coming after the lengthiest State of the
Union Address ever, it may have only been viewed by Democratic loyalists. Her theme was affordability. It is worth watching.
As usual, Trump confidently asserted verifiable untruths,
often misstating the country’s economic conditions as he found them and as they
stand today. “In his speech tonight, the
president did what he always does: he lied,” Spanberger said. Trump’s problem is that people are
increasingly aware of the gap between his claims and the truth.
There’s a long way to go between the State of the Union Address
and November’s congressional elections. Now
it’s clear he faces increasingly skeptical federal courts and risks the end of
GOP control of Congress.
Trump cannot afford to lose GOP support, because the
Democrats and non-aligned voters say they strongly oppose him. Republicans cheered his words and appear to remain
loyal, but defections by only a relative few could swing the elections.
He may become a lame duck after the elections. It could begin even sooner if some congressional
Republicans increasingly see their abject loyalty to him as a political disadvantage.
