Tucker Scott ‘26
Opinions Editor
As someone who likes America having two viable political parties, the implosion of the Democratic Party is truly something to behold. On nearly every issue, they have been incredibly disconnected from the American people; it boggles the mind. There is no question why the Democratic Party is more unpopular now than it has ever been and why President Trump is more popular than he has ever been in his decade-long venture in politics. Nowhere was this clearer than the State of the Union and the disastrous showing by the Democrats.
With all the victories the new Trump administration has been racking up and the pace they are moving, Democrats needed a win. Plain and simple. They needed to halt the momentum of the Trump train. For the past two months, Trump has been kicking them around on pretty much every major issue the American people care about. So naturally, instead of unifying and securing a political win, they decided to make Trump look like a moderate, a unifier, and a man of the people. Meanwhile, they looked crazed, out of touch, elitist, and just all around not nice. Instead of halting Trump’s momentum, they boosted him and made the definitive case for why they should never hold power.
It’s not as if Trump didn’t need a win from this speech. He absolutely did. With a trade war on the horizon, and the disastrous meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy just days before, Trump needed some momentum. If Democrats were smart, they could have deprived him of it. But instead, they did the exact opposite and made Trump’s case for him.
It’s not like the Democrats had to do much to secure a win. It’s not like they had to do some complex political maneuvering or some 4D chess move. They just had to clap for the thirteen-year-old who survived cancer and not look like they were at some upper-class 1980s auction. Clap for the capturing of the terrorist who killed thirteen American service members in the Abbey Gate Massacre. Clap for the kid who got into West Point. Clap for the teacher being freed from a Russian penal colony. It’s not that hard. Were those moments a little gimmicky? Sure. But are they also amazing moments that every good-hearted person should be happy about? Absolutely. Sure, it’s Trump who did it, but who cares? Those are objectively good things. Whether the president had a D or an R before their name, you should be happy those things happened. When Trump talks about his more controversial proposals, such as tariffs, Ukraine policy, or even illegal immigration, that’s where you can stand or protest. That’s where the democratic response to the speech can come in.
But protesting and screaming over things Trump doesn’t want – like cutting social security. And getting kicked out because you won’t stop yelling at the president doesn’t make you look brave or turn you into a resistance leader or get the American people on your side. It makes you look self-serving, spoiled, and hypocritical. This is especially true coming from representatives like Al Green, who called for Trump’s impeachment quite literally on day one before Trump even did anything. When it comes down to it, it’s all about credibility. If you won’t applaud for a thirteen-year-old surviving cancer, why on Earth should we care when you walk out or protest about something Trump says? If you said Trump was a threat to democracy on day one, why should we believe you when you say DOGE is a threat to democracy?
As for the contents of Trump’s speech, it was excellent. And I say this as a registered independent who was and is no big Trump sycophant. I’m under no misconception that Trump is some unifying figure. But by any objective measure, this speech was one of the best of his two presidencies. The only ones that came close were his 2019 State of the Union speech on D Day in Europe. Trump’s entire speech was – America is back, and America is awesome. It turns out it is a pretty popular message because most people like America. So the Democrats – by not clapping, by being on their phones, by holding up paddles, and only standing for Ukraine – made themselves look like selfish, corrupt, venal, elitist politicians who hate the success of America. If your campaign message is that America sucks then I’m sorry you are going to lose and lose big every time – as you should.
Featured image courtesy of AP News
Web Edited by Zexuan Qu ’28
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