President Donald Trump did something entirely new in his State of the Union speech to Congress Tuesday evening. Playing to one of his greatest strengths, which is that he is a gifted populist showman, he simply put on a populist show. It was an address of record length, yet it was not the “laundry list” that so many of these presidential speeches are. It was a theater production, bringing in a long line of military, sporting, and civilian heroes to honor, whose presence was calculated to reflect glory onto the president, his administration, and his party.
The calculation was also that Democrats would look sour and seem less proud of their country and its people. He didn’t leave that to chance, calling them “dirty rotten liars” and “cheats” among other things. The technique is hardly refined or sophisticated, but it may have worked. The Left refused to support several allusions to the notion of American sovereignty. This was predictable and made Democrats look bad. They looked worse for heckling by leftist Squad members, one of them sporting a badge with the vulgar words, “F*** ICE” on it, showing that they can stoop at least as low as Trump can.
After correctly noting that Democrats have yet again shut down the government, this time the Department of Homeland Security, to protect illegal immigrants, Trump invited the American people to see what their elected representatives really believe. “I am inviting every legislator to join with my administration and reaffirm a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support,” he said, “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
For the next 90 seconds, Republicans in the chamber stood and applauded while every Democrat sat glumly silent. Until Trump escalated, saying the Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for not standing up for American citizens, at which point he got into a shouting match with Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are two of the most radical anti-ICE members of Congress. And of course, no one ever wins a shouting match with the man who has the microphone.
It was a moment of cheerful demagoguery from Trump within a speech of turbo-charged populism. He went on to force Democrats not to stand for the mother of Iryna Zarutska, the woman murdered by a repeat offender released by a Democrat judge, or for Dalilah Coleman, a little girl injured by an illegal immigrant using a commercial driver’s license. Many Democrats refused to stand even for the gold medal-winning United States men’s Olympic hockey team.
The policy portions of the speech were all populist, too. Using the negotiating power of the federal government to lower drug prices; banning corporations from buying homes; a declaration of continued tariff policy; a celebration of his no tax on tips or Social Security benefits; additional pledge to match 401(k) retirement contributions by up to $1,000. There was nothing in Trump’s speech that was about small or limited government. His address demonstrated just how far Trump has moved the Republican Party.
A single speech is unlikely to turn around Trump’s declining approval ratings. Inflation is down, but prices remain high and are a source of popular frustration. Employment is up, especially among people born in the United States. Wages are growing. But there has also been significant economic chaos caused by tariffs. Many grocery store items are now more expensive than before, although Trump has tried to dial back some of these specific rates, and everything from construction to manufacturing has been hurt by higher prices for the goods and commodities they need to produce their final products.
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Nevertheless, the staged theatrics Trump created Tuesday night transfer well into short video clips that can easily be shared online. Expect to see Democrats refusing to stand for American citizens and the U.S. hockey team over and over again in the coming months before November.
It probably won’t be enough to stall what is shaping up to be a good Democratic year in the midterm elections. But it will contrast the two parties through 2028 and beyond.