President Donald Trump’s annual State of the Union Address did not disappoint drama lovers. Be it partisan rivalries or Trump’s personality from his days on “The Apprentice” shining through, the event covered personal and political drama alike.
From the start, Trump refused to shake Democratic House Speaker Nancy’s Pelosi’s extended hand, turning away instead. The rejection may have been an honest accident, or perhaps, a reaction to Pelosi’s major involvement in his impeachment proceedings.
Oddly enough, Trump never mentioned his impeachment trials. One might expect that investigating corruption in the White House with charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress would be deemed a pressing national issue. However, Trump disagreed. The general public might not disagree, though, considering a Business Insider poll found that a mere 33 percent of Americans agreed with the Senate’s acquittal of Trump.
Furthermore, Trump does mention some falsehoods in his address. For example, Trump states: “As a result of our unprecedented efforts, illegal crossings are down 75 percent since May—dropping eight straight months in a row.” However, this is far from the truth; illegal border crossings are reported to be the highest in 12 years, with 799,669 in 2019. This is the highest value since 2007 and even trumps the 2016 rate by 81 percent.
He even incorporated immense religious allusions, connecting his religious beliefs into policy goals. Trump asserted that “In America, we celebrate faith, we cherish religion, we lift our voices in prayer and we raise our sights to the glory of God.” Bringing the church into the government aside, Trump used this seemingly religious argument as an introduction to his argument about gun rights. Apparently, this right to freedom of religion (despite him breaking this amendment by endorsing a religion) means that America should also focus on the Second Amendment, protecting the right to bear arms. This right to guns overshadowed any mention of mass shootings or gun violence, despite how there were 419 mass shootings in 2019 and 33 in this 2020 alone. Many mass shootings could be prevented with stricter gun control laws, yet the Trump administration prioritizes the right to carry.
That was not the only time Trump forgot that the President is supposed to maintain secularity, such as when he made the bold statement that “America has always been a Christian nation,” clearly breaking the democratic expectation of the separation of church and state. He transitioned into using this religious idea as a motivation to “embrace the next frontier, America’s manifest destiny in the stars,” supporting the Artemis program to fund expeditions to both the moon and Mars. However, it is important to note that Manifest Destiny is a term used to describe Americans spreading their influence in the 19th century under religious motives and is often associated with the forced removal of Native Americans. While space exploration is important, there are many other pressing issues such as gun control or environmental issues that lack funding.
Still, Trump’s State of the Union could not conclude without even more drama. Trump took on a religiously inspirational tone, declaring that, “The sun is still rising. God’s grace is still shining. My fellow Americans, the best is yet to come. Thank you. God Bless you, and God bless America. Thank you very much.” Seconds later, Pelosi ripped her copy of Trump’s speech in two, directly behind the POTUS for all to see. The crowd cheered and clapped, rendering Pelosi’s actions quite a spectacle. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence pretended to be oblivious, continuing to smile and clap.
Though deemed unprofessional and perhaps disrespectful, Pelosi’s iconic action clearly depicted her opposition to Trump’s administration and lack of removal. Considering Trump’s questionable policies and corruption, Pelosi’s ripping is not what the country should focus its energy on. America needs to focus on the actual state of the union instead of the State of the Union.
Article by Kara Peeler of Clarksburg High School
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons