At 9:36 pm, Trump actually started talking about his presidential vision for the country.
Trump is eating his vegetables — I mean, reading what his speechwriters wrote for him — before he gets to dessert.
Democrats standing to applaud their opposition to Trump’s tax-cut bill
Trump handing out medals from the podium. We are a long way from Grover Cleveland submitting pages of budget data.
There is a papery softness in Trump’s delivery tonight that makes him sound winded.
By promising the safety of LA for the next Olympics in the same way DC is now, Trump pretty clearly signals his intention to deploy the National Guard there.
It almost feels like Trump is stalling for time by talking about the Olympics because the other material is less crowd-pleasing.
Though still a ways from the U.S.–Canada border, I can hear from my desk in Wisconsin the racking sobs of inconsolable Canadians watching the President of the United States celebrate the U.S. Men’s hockey victory.
If you’re going to cloyingly solicit applause, Trump’s appeals to patriotism are a good cause. They have the added advantage of presenting Democrats in the chamber with the conundrum of risking being seen to have applauded Trump when they intended only to applaud the country.
The U.S. women’s hockey team declined Trump’s invitation to the SOTU earlier today.