Trump hides in plain sight at the State of the Union

[marmar]

Trump hides in plain sight at the State of the Union
The president waited until most viewers had tuned out to reveal his worst impulses

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published February 25, 2026 6:45AM (EST)


(Salon) After a year of Donald Trump being restored to the White House, Americans are increasingly sick of the president. In the 2024 presidential election, he clearly benefited from having been out of office — and from the short attention span of swing voters, who clearly forgot the chaos and incompetence that defined the former reality TV host’s first term. Now that he’s in everyone’s faces again, his polls are rapidly sinking. But Trump, ever the narcissist, apparently thought he knew a way to win back the hearts and minds of the American people: by droning at them for nearly two hours in a State of the Union address that was as dishonest as it was tedious. While it’s unlikely he won people over, Trump did showcase his ability to manipulate viewers, largely by saving the worst parts of his speech until most of them had long gone to bed.

Tuesday’s address was boring, but at least it was mildly entertaining to watch Republicans in the House of Representatives chamber compete with each other to give standing ovations that made the performances in “The Death of Stalin” look understated. Of course there is always performative applause at the annual speech, regardless of party. But the GOP’s eagerness to show the narcissist-in-chief how they love him the most got out of control. Republicans seemed to hop out of their seats every five seconds as Trump lied about how he turned a “dead” country into the “hottest.” It was enough to wish a charley horse on them, as the theatrics were meant to prove the president’s lies about the country experiencing “a turnaround for the ages.”

....(snip)....

But sure enough, as the speech dragged into the first hour — after non-political junkies have grown bored and turned it off — the real Trump came out. He complained about the ingratitude of those who don’t understand his singular economic genius in pushing tariffs. He griped about the word “affordability,” implying Democrats made that concern up, while also blaming them for prices. He groused repeatedly that the party was not giving him the same phony love bombing that Republicans offered. Some Democrats did angrily shout back, but I wouldn’t make too much of it. Most Democrats did not give Trump the angry reaction he wanted. A few were caught sleeping on camera, the only response this speech deserved.

....(snip)....

Trump also turned his attention to his truest love: weird, misleading and titillating stories pretending that right-wing America is under threat from “sick people” — liberals — who are “destroying” the country for no other reason, in his telling, than their relentless need to do evil. He claimed that schools are trying to force kids to change genders. And, of course, he shouted out Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who he claimed was a “martyr” to these shadowy forces of woke. .....................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/02/25/trump-hides-in-plain-sight-at-the-state-of-the-union/

[dalton99a]

1. The evil monster, ugly inside and out:

President Donald Trump exits the House Chamber after delivering the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

[58Sunliner]

2. It was sick.

Rec!!!

[Goonch]

3. ;-{) The rest of the story.........

[GenThePerservering]

4. I usually really like Amanda Marcotte's

insights and commentary, but I think she's off on this one. OK, Susie Wiles, FWIW, may be the brains of the outfit, maybe she shock collared Trump, but I doubt it - they don't have the insight, depth of understanding nor the organizational skills to extrapolate and then plot. They certainly don't have the insight, including cynical Susie, who has to make up for THAT interview, anyway.

As time crept by, Droning Don simply started decompensating - fatigue sets in, he starts sundowning, the drugs start wearing off, he descends into his usual fever dream existence...but thus was not a planned event.