"How'd That Work Out?"

"How'd that work out?"

President Trump on weaponizing the government against him. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/rMQVbKVChw

— Turning Point Action (@TPAction_) March 5, 2025

I was expecting a very different address to Congress from the one I saw last night. For one thing, if we watch a State of the Union at all, my wife and I put extra wine in reserve, expecting it will be needed to make it through the whole tedious experience. Last night, even though Trump spoke at record length, we didn't need the extra wine. But also, we were both expecting a more usual Trump stream-of-consciousness speech, but this one was structured and focused. In Mark Halperin's words at 9:10,

[H]e just gave an extraordinary performance, and you can hate Donald Trump and still have to acknowledge it was an extraordinary performance, talking for a hundred minutes, not boring, high energy, and really used the luxury he had of an opposition which came in saying the focus was going to be on the real lives of real people and instead engaged in a performance unlike any I've ever seen. You don't want to cheer for Donald Trump saying he shut down the border, because you think his border policies aren't good? OK. But it is not human to sit there while that little boy cancer survivor is waived into the Secret Service and then hugs the head of the Secret Service. That is not human. . . . It's not about patriotism, it's not about politics, it's about humanity and judgment.

His point that the opposition was a "luxury" is insightful. Rep Al Green might have been scripted by Trump's own people, an elderly (age 78), unattractive, bitter figure yelling incoherently, shaking his cane at Trump, refusing to sit down after repeated warnings from the Speaker, and finally being escorted out by the Sergeant at Arms. But Nancy Pelosi's cameo appearance was just as providential:

On Tuesday, Trump delivered a wide-ranging and politically charged address to a joint session of Congress. During it, he said, "America is back," while celebrating the flurry of executive orders he had signed since being inaugurated as president for the second time on January 20.

This included the order Trump signed on February 5, titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' which banned transgender athletes from competing against women and girls in educational institutions and grassroots sports.

During these remarks, a television camera briefly focused on Pelosi, who slowly moved her head from side-to-side while appearing crestfallen and holding a walking stick.

A 14-second clip of this was reshared on X, formerly Twitter, by Savanah Hernandez, a Turning Point USA contributor, and it went viral with over 2.2 million views and more than 29,000 likes.

Just so we’re all aware, this was Nancy Pelosi’s reaction as Trump was discussing men not being allowed to play in women’s sports pic.twitter.com/8E4LKxjYpw

— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) March 5, 2025

She also chewed on her dentures, never a good look. The camera at one point briefly pulled back to show Rep Steny Hoyer, age 85 and like Pelosi retired from leadership but still in the House, looking, if possible, even more cadaverous than Pelosi. Another great moment was from Sen Elizabeth Warren:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was interrupted from reading her phone by President Trump when he called out Warren by her Trump-given nickname when he was talking about ending the war in Ukraine.

President Trump said, “You wanna keep it (the War in Ukraine) going for another five years? Yeah. Pocahontas says yes”. Warren’s reaction to being singled out for wanting to keep the war going? She started applauding.

A bizarre reaction for someone just made fun of by the President during a televised address broadcast seen around the world.

Well, she wasn't paying attention, was caught off guard, didn't fully grasp what was happening, and simply doubled down on the mistake. But the whole evening was like that:

The Democrats did significant damage to their brand, although by now, I’m not sure there is anything left of their brand. What do they even stand for anymore? Certainly not for the kid with multiple surgeries on his brain given an honorary appointment to the Secret Service. They sat there, stone-faced and entitled, and looked like petulant little brats in a rage because they couldn’t have ice cream before dinner.

They humiliated themselves and made Trump look like a hero. Now, some might say the Democrats set Trump up in the meeting with Zelensky and that Trump paid them back by setting them up here. He knew they wouldn’t stand and clap for anything, so why not make them an offer they couldn’t refuse? But still, they fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

I've thought for a while that their main problem was that Nancy Pelosi became the de facto party leader sometime in the early 2000s, but as she's aged out, there's been no replacement. The party simply wants to keep on with the Pelosi formula, and part of that problem is that Pelosi is still all too visible.

But beyond that, good grief, Trump is a year older than I am, and I couldn't have put on that performance ten years ago, let alone now.