President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to Congress last night. In the hours leading up to the speech, many of the President’s supporters voiced their hope that Trump would use the occasion to bludgeon his opponents by, say, reciting the FISA memo verbatim. Others expressed fears that he would instead focus on winning over fence-sitters to the exclusion of his base.
I’m happy to report that the President gave a most satisfactory speech that struck an effective balance between addressing the concerns of his ardent supporters and persuading those among his critics who can still be swayed. Jay Fivekiller had the best assessment of the speech, identifying it as an expertly delivered sales pitch.
Watch the video here.
Highlights:
- The President deftly wove a compelling narrative into his speech which incorporated the military personnel, civil servants, and concerned and bereaved citizens attending as the First Lady’s guests.
- The Democrats sitting on their hands for or even booing tax cuts, immensely popular immigration reform measures, and rising black employment.
- Trump giving the Democrats chance after chance to show support for these items prior to each of their churlish displays, giving them ample rope to hang themselves.
- The President commandeering, in one fell swoop, the heretofore Leftist rhetoric of “Dreamers”, much as he did to great effect with “Fake News”. From now on, the term refers to Americans pursuing the American Dream instead of aliens seeking to profit from their parents’ crimes.
- Trump’s building of a compelling case for why the Wall is needed for the nation’s safety before once again calling on Congress to fund it.
Yet Trump’s first State of the Union address was not all roses and sunshine. Mention was once again made of offering a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal aliens in exchange for the Wall and immigration reform. However, I’m convinced such talk is no cause for concern.
It seems increasingly likely that Jay Fivekiller is on to something with his contention that Trump is using his calls for a DACA deal to drive a wedge between Congressional Democrats and their base. The Left has already called Trump’s offer of eventual citizenship to 1.8 million illegals “white supremacy”. The Democrats simply have no leverage.
By not flinching during the government shutdown, the Trump-led Republicans have trapped the Democrats in a Xanatos Gambit where they have no winning moves left. If they accept an amnesty deal for 1.8 million, their barking mad base will harangue Chuck Schumer outside his house at all hours because he did not get amnesty for all 11 million. If he turns down Trump’s deal–which he must–his moonbat base will castigate him for not saving the 1.8 million when he had the chance.
How will the current standoff turn out? I still favor a scenario similar to the one
the Z Man laid out in his predictions for 2018. In short, DACA expires, but the Republicans give some kind of trivial sop to the Democrats in the infrastructure bill, which will include funding for the Wall. The GOP will use this string of successes, along with the fallout from the FISA memo, to retain control of Congress in the midterms.
If this forecast sounds a bit too sunny, keep in mind that events almost never proceed in a straight line. It’s till incumbent upon us to stay alert, informed, and involved. There are worse uses of one’s time than helping to melt Congress’ phones.
