I've been watching State of the Union addresses by various presidents since Jimmy Carter was doing them. I watched all of President Reagan's presentations, and there's a good reason they called him the Great Communicator. I watched Joe Biden trying not to drool on his shirt during his State of the Union efforts.
But on Tuesday night, I think I saw the best State of the Union address I've ever seen. This was President Trump's masterwork, but due to one part of my early background, I was able to instantly spot what he was doing, why he was doing it, and how he did it masterfully. Here's why, and I'm going to tell you.
When I was about 13 up until I was able to (legally) drive into town for jobs that paid more regularly, I kept myself in pizzas and .22 and shotgun shells by running a trapline in the winter. Our northeast Iowa hills, covered with hardwood timber, had great populations of foxes and raccoons, and the trout streams were full of muskrats, and on one red-letter morning I caught a big buck mink. Trapping isn't as easy as it sounds. You have to carefully evaluate where to place sets, how to arrange them, and which baits might entice a furbearer in.
It's a fascinating hobby. I still have my trap string, in case I ever decide to go after Alaska furbearers, but I'd have to brush up on tactics some. But on Tuesday night, President Donald John Trump gave us a master class in trapping one's political opposition by enticing Democrats into making some of the dumbest, blindest acts of mindless defiance I've ever seen. Things started off with Democrat Rep. Al Green (TX-09) unleashing an outburst and being ushered out of the chamber, but then, Rep. Green is what you expect to find on the south end of a northbound horse, so that's not anything new.
The president deliberately set up obvious applause lines, naming specifics, describing actions that are on the 95 side of being 95-5 issues, and Democrats sat there.
He introduced the parents of Irnya Zarutska, who was murdered on a North Carolina commuter train by a mentally unstable career criminal, and as Irnya's mother stood, sobbing, Democrats sat there.
When the president touted some pretty impressive economic numbers, most notably inflation and jobs, Democrats sat there.
And finally, when the president called out on everyone in the chamber to stand if they supported American citizens over illegal aliens, Democrats sat there.
There were some other great moments. One of my favorites was the president's jab at another Democrat, Representative and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), who, during Trump's first term, stood behind him and tore up her copy of his State of the Union speech in what is without doubt the most childish act of petulance I've ever witnessed from an elected representative.
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The Democrats weren't entirely stupid. They did stand, for the most part, when two Medals of Honor were presented, one to a World War Two veteran, 100-year-old Captain E. Royce Williams - First Lady Melania Trump herself placed the Medal around Captain Royce's neck - and Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, who was wounded in the recent operation in Venezuela.
Even so, the damage is done. Democrats ended up looking like angry children, and I'm not even going to go into some of the freak-show "alternative" events, or the yawn-inducing official Democrat rebuttal delivered by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger
So, what happens now?
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This evening's events were a big win for the GOP. Now, if they want to avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, there are a few things Republicans, from the president to the third assistant dogcatcher in Pocatello, need to do: Take these petulant, childish, idiotic antics by Democrats, these mindless acts of resistance, these textbook cases of Stage V Trump Derangement Syndrome, and weaponize them. You all have the video clips. You all have the outbursts on record. You have Al Green once more acting like a stupid horse's rear and being escorted out. You have Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) looking uncomfortable when President Trump described rampant fraud by what he deemed "Somali pirates."
When it comes to campaign sound bites for the midterms, Tuesday night's speech and the Democrats' reactions presented Republicans with an embarrassment of riches. Use them. Hammer them home. Show them refusing to stand for the sobbing mother of a murder victim. Show them refusing to support the notion of placing the interests of their actual constituents - American citizens - over illegal aliens. Show all of it, over and over. Hit every social media platform. Hit every online outlet. And yes, run ads on the legacy media, and let their talking heads squawk.
President Trump looked at the terrain. He carefully placed his traps. He baited them with his words, and Democrats obligingly stepped in. Now, it's time to finish the job. Use this. Make sure that, in November, we can strip the hide right off Democrats, from Bangor to San Diego, from Miami to Wasilla.
