“Choosing greatness” Or choosing fantasy? What will Trump’s SOTU Speech Tell Us?

Trump SOTU writers

First Off, he didn’t write it. 

What Is the SOTU address?

It is a formal address to Congress about affairs of our democracy, what has happened and what we can do to move things forward. It makes the case for legislation to be passed and foreign policies to be adopted. In the early years of government, the President wrote the SOTU for Congress , but it took television to make it an address to the people. Trump, however, sees it (as with everything) as an extension of himself. Sooo...

It is NOT:

- An episode of “The Apprentice.” In Trump's mind, it may be geared towards a it-must-be-true-because-he-says-it-on-TV audience. But there can be no “reverse engineering” as one producer put it. The President cannot change the focus, style or subject matter on a whim. 

- A Trump rally. Congress may give standing ovations to some pints, but (hopefully) no one will be wearing a red MAGA cap. 

- A Fox and Friends appearance. The President will not be addressing a group of sycophants (or at least not as many as he would like)*

- A showcase for Trump to “act” presidential. He doesn't realize that in speech, tone and demeanor is not just for SOTU.


“I write my own speeches”

LOL! We know he didn’t write his last SOTU address and this time will be no different because:

- There will be at least twenty big words that are not in Trump’s vocabulary
- The Style will be coherent
- The address will be far too long. Ghostwriter Tony Schwartz said that Trump did not actually write “Art of the Deal”. A speech that long would take Trump many hours to write, and, as noted in the just-leaked daily schedule, Trump spends too much “executive time” each day to delve into anything that labor intensive. 

In fact, given Trump’s now infamous “allergy to reading” he probably hasn’t taken the time to read the whole thing, a fact that will cause the SOTU’s address writers to have panic attacks resulting from the nightmarish possibility that he will go off script (see above reaction).**

And although he will not have written it, the SOTU address will still be full of misstatements Trump will have insisted be included. (Last year, Trump's SOTU was analyzed and his misstatements brought to the fore). It will be packed with a kind of disingenuous drivel, glossing over the harsh words he had for Pelosi and Schumer and the Shutdown, making him look as if he is magnanimously teaching out to Democrats in a plea for unity. 

So much disingenuous drivel in fact, that Stacey Abrams will be hard pressed to keep her cool during her rebuttal and not die laughing. 

He's already tweeted that his theme of unification will be a farce and that he's going ahead with emergency strategy:

"Dems do nothing. If there is no Wall, there is no Security. Human Trafficking, Drugs and Criminals of all dimensions - KEEP OUT!"

Battle of the Guests

Like his first SOTU address, there will be protests in various forms in contrast Republicans who give him standing ovations, but this year's invited guests may provide greater entertainment. The roster alone screams "War!" Of course, it would be fun if SOTU were to be set in a school cafeteria where a food-fight would commence, but the House Chamber will instead be filled with tension, scowls and boos as well as applause.  

Trump may be distracted by the looks of:

- Victorina Morales, an immigrant without legal status living in New Jersey who was fired from the Trump National Golf Club.
- A Transgender Sailor Who Challenged Trump's Military Ban
- A mother and child separated at the border
-  Ana Maria Archila, one of two women who was recorded in September confronting then-Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator
- A Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center employee who was furloughed during the shutdown.
- A Transportation Security Administration agent. TSA agents were required to work without pay during the shutdown
- a former golf club employee, Sandra Diaz, who did not have legal status during her employment, is now a legal permanent resident of the United States.

...while Democrats will hear the cheers from:

- A middle class welder heralded as a dreamer taking advantage of Trump's tax break. He has a six figure salary, but hey, he's black!
- Parents of two teens killed by MS-13 gang members. Absolute proof that immigrants are bad. Wikipedia:

There is no evidence that weak immigration enforcement or sanctuary city policies contribute to MS-13 activity. Republican politicians, President Trump in particular, have falsely accused Democratic politicians of supporting MS-13.

-  A Southern California firefighter who would not have had to save children and adults staff  from a wildfire is California had better forestry management and techniques like Finland's raking.

The Aftermath

SOTU 2018

President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning that viewership for his first State of the Union address was “the highest number in history.” 

While it will be interesting to watch Stacey Abrams intelligently rebut Trump's hyperbole, his attacks on Democrats,and his gestures indicating how very (ahem) on-the-money he is, the SOTU address response will show America how deeply divided it is in the ideologies and the support of a know-nothing, do-nothing President. 

* Chief sycophant spokesperson, Stephen Miller insulted the intelligence of most of Americans when he said this:

**Somewhere along the line, someone must have sat him down and told him these things before the first SOTU. They probably has reminded him that to many, he sounded “presidential” in the last SOTU. So remember, Donnie Boy, to keep to script no matter what. Because if you go off script, we're all doomed.