Trump’s postmortem on the Democrats’ reaction during the State of the Union address

February 5, 2018 • 4:04 pm

Here is a narcissist in action. He can’t even let go of the tepid reaction of the Democrats during his State of the Union address; in fact, unbelievably, he calls it not only “un-American”, but treason.

He claims that Democrats care more about their own ideology than the good of the country, but doesn’t realize that he cares more about the image of The Trump than about the good of the country.

h/t: Matthew Cobb

68 thoughts on “Trump’s postmortem on the Democrats’ reaction during the State of the Union address”

  2. In watching some of Obama’s SOTU speeches, I note that not only are the Republicans often sitting on their hands, but Speaker Ryan in 2016 notably was often motionless while Biden and others were applauding. Treason!!!

    1. Yes, this sort of thing has been going on for a while, now. Of course, when would Trump have ever chosen to watch a SoTU speech in the past?

  3. Essentially, an Orwellian Newspeak redefinition of Treason (which has been used all too often).

    1. I was thinking the same thing; minor detail – Wilson shouted his insult at a speech to a joint session and not at the SOTU; still despicable. He got a dose of his own bile at a South Carolina town hall meeting last April with his constituents using his own words.

  5. Next people who don’t applaud hard enough will mysteriously disappear, just like in N. Korea.

    1. That is rather what I felt when I watched as much of the speech as I could bear (which wasn’t much – I simply cannot stand Trump’s soft, wheedling, glutinous voice for one thing). The leaping up to applaud every pathetic and infantile banality that dripped from his lips was the sort of spectacle you might expect to see in some particularly nasty dictatorship, whether of the ‘left’ or the ‘right’, and it appalled me to see this sort of thing in a nation that claims to be a democracy.

      2. Exactly what I thought as well, only you said it so much better than I could have.

        Banalities dripping from his lips. Perfect.

      3. I think we need a word for this kind of state: no longer a democracy, almost a kleptocracy – I think a ‘sycophancy’ might suit it.

      1. Showing respect to the office in spite of the low character of the office-holder used to be a supportable position. Not any more.

        1. No. It’s very important, especially now, to insist that there are standards the office holder should live up to.

  7. The first 4 year old president. The White House is just a full time nursery and day care center when he isn’t entertaining Russians.

      1. Yes, I saw that just a short time ago. Excellent start at bringing a little democracy back.

  8. The Dear Leader, erm…. Die Führer, erm…. president… apparently needs approbation at all times. He has his finger on the button and he worries about whether the people he demonizes kow-tow to him?

  10. It you want a brief review of the Russian/Trump investigation the Washington Post just put one out – covers from 2013 to November 2017. I’m sure the items from way back to 2013 were to pick up Carter Page and his spooky business and also that is when Trump put on the beauty contest in Moscow.

  11. Of course he accuses them of treason. Pretty soon he’ll be accusing Obama of having a ridiculous comb over and eating too much junk food.

  12. L’etat c’est moi, sayeth the Donald. He thinks the rest of the government is there to serve his interests and to do his bidding. He plainly believes that the US Justice Department, and most especially the FBI, should serve the same function for him as his security goons at Trump Tower.

    Trump is hurtling this nation headlong toward a constitutional crisis. The man has less-than-zero respect for the rule of law, and harbors a morbid fear of being labeled a “loser.” There is nothing he will decline to do to avoid that, including running roughshod over this nation’s traditions and institutions.

    2. It must be awfully rough on a corporate tyrant not to always be able to get his way.

      So far as I know, son Barron did not attend the event. I conjecture that he doesn’t want the attention. (Perhaps The First Lady has put her foot down, a la Jacqueline Kennedy.) Can’t blame him. I find it difficult to believe that Trump would accept with congenial equanimity his son’s decision not to attend.

      Re: another poster’s comment about Paul Ryan sitting on his hands and not applauding Obama: if I correctly read the NY Times headline online, due to a firestorm of criticism, Ryan recently removed a tweet he made about a lady’s WEEKLY salary – having been increased by $1.50 – as evidence that the recent corporate tax cut was benefiting U.S. serfs – um, uh, I mean – employees.

      1. Trump’s toadying cabinet is going to have to work overtime to compensate for this Democratic outrage. (Although I don’t see how they can toady any more than they already intensely have.)

    3. What do you make of the Republicans sudden turn around to unanimously voting to release the Democrats “response” memo? Is this a sign that perhaps the Republican Party is thinking about cutting Trump loose? If Trump denies the release will the Republicans in the House also vote to release the memo?

      1. Yes, that surprised me too. I doubt Trump will sign it and there’s probably nothing the Dems can do but leak it and blame the leak on a staffer.

        1. Apparently if Trump says no there is another avenue that can be used to over-ride him, a vote in the House of Representatives. If it came to such a vote it seems like it would be in favor of releasing the Democrat’s memo since the Republicans on the intelligence committe voted unanimously to do so.

          Unless the Republicans are playing games. Well, I mean of course they are playing games, but if they are playing a game where it makes sense to them to vote “aye” at stage 1 then turn around, again, and vote “nay” at stage 3.

          1. It will be interesting if Trump says no. It will make him look even more guilty than he already does. It will make him look terrified. Let’s standby.

  14. If speech can be violence, then not-clapping can be treason. See where this is going…?

  15. But let’s not forget about all of the Orange Draft Dodger’s wins on his campaign promises! A wall that Mexico is paying for; Obamacare repealed and replaced; Hillary prosecuted; waterboarding and worse has been re-instated; abandoned NATO as obsolete; deported all illegal aliens [deportations have been dropping ever since 2012]; and of course the UUUGE tax cut for the middle class. Folks had better squirrel away that extra take home pay for the surprise that awaits many when they file next year – the way the law is written, the Federal Taxable Income line will go up, and taxes will be lowered. However, many states use the Federal Taxable Income as the basis for their tax, and thus state taxes will go up. This has already created quite a kerfuffle in Colorado.

  16. I can’t watch him. He makes me feel like I’m being harangued by a guy trying to sell me a used mattress with visible stains.

    1. Yes it’s the nausea, vomiting/diarrhea. It is either the flu or another Donald speech.

  17. And thanks to his tax cuts, the government is set to borrow a whopping 1.1 Trillion, increasing our debt while impairing the ability to pay it down. The King of Debt strikes again!

  19. Here is a prediction of what’s coming. Trump has said now dozens of times, no collusion, no obstruction of justice. He also says he is ready to sit down with Mueller and testify. Today his lawyers are saying no to this, they advise him not to agree to talk. So that is what he will do. Next step is subpoena from Mueller to appear before a grand jury. He will go but take the 5th and not talk again because he is guilty as hell. After that it will be time for the public and congress to starting the impeachment. This long slow train wreck will be coming into the station.

  20. Perhaps, given how the stock market reacted today, and ref your preceding post, the time will soon come when Boss Tweet will react as your grandfather’s cousin did, when the populace, as your grandfather, comes knocking.

    1. Re Stock Market Plunge: Has it suddenly dawned on the princes of capitalism that they have put themselves under the thumb of an authentically dangerous sociopath, and many are freaking out?

      1. Economists have been warning that stock prices seemed overvalued and were due for a correction. This may not be anything too big though. But expect Republicans to suddenly drop the DOW from their conversations, just as they did when it was rising under Obama for 5-6 years straight and only began bragging about it the instant Trump inherited that trend.

  21. A recent op-ed in the NYT by political scientists by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, entitled “How Wobbly is Our Democracy?” has received a lot of buzz and analysis (some disagree with the thesis). However, much of what they say I agree with, which is that although not starting with Trump, he has accelerated the decline of democratic norms. They argue:

    ————————-
    “To function well, democratic constitutions must be reinforced by two basic norms, or unwritten rules. The first is mutual toleration, according to which politicians accept their opponents as legitimate. When mutual toleration exists, we recognize that our partisan rivals are loyal citizens who love our country just as we do.”

    “The second norm is forbearance, or self-restraint in the exercise of power. Forbearance is the act of not exercising a legal right. In politics, it means not deploying one’s institutional prerogatives to the hilt, even if it’s legal to do so.”
    ————————–

    Extreme partisanship can undo even the most established democracies. Trump is helping to foster such a condition. His calling the Democrats in Congress treasonous is extremely dangerous. American democracy is indeed wobbly. We will see whether the country will step back from the brink. But, we will remain at the brink as long as Trump is president.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/opinion/sunday/democracy-polarization.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region

  22. The Trump who’s bragging about “the charts, the polls” showing the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the Republic is the one who cautioned during his campaign not to trust the “phony numbers” coming out of Labor Department since the real unemployment rate was “28, 29, probably 35, maybe as high as 42 percent”:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_vvwMtc2M

    Trump’s volte-face on this, immediately upon taking office, was so shameless even a compunctionless liar Sean Spicer had to blush when asked about it in the press-briefing room.

  23. Trump calling the Dem reaction “treason” doesn’t strike me as any more unbelievable than you calling it “tepid.” Tepid? Really? The more accurate word is “rude,” but hey, that’s partisan politics these days.

      1. I never did, but did so now, looked up the video of Mr Obama’s last SOTU speech. Apart from a few, very few, exceptions, the Reps were sitting on their hands. I guess these Reps are traitors too. 🙂
        Sorry Diane, maybe it was evident for you, but not all of us -especially outside the US- have followed these proceedings closely. It was new for me, at least. Thanks for that.

        1. Oh, it often seems that many of the outside-the-US posters here know more about US politics than we natives! (Present audience excluded, of course.)

          IMO the GOP reaction to Obama was arguably worse than the Dems’ to Trump. For one thing, the first guy was a model of decorum, while Trump is…not. More depressingly, with Obama there was a not insignificant stink of racism not far below the surface.

  24. Americans living overseas and dependent on the value of the dollar can also fear that Trump will cheerfully destroy the dollar if his sixth-grade understanding of economics – like that of the creature he has installed at the Treasury – tells him the way to win re-election is to increase the value of exports even if nothing else is working. One way or another Trump will destroy this country.

    1. Mr Mnuchin, investment banker, hedge fund manager and film producer. Does not sound too bad in itself. Yes, I know he supported this unconscionable tax ‘reform’, but still, compared to, say, Mr Pruitt or Ms De Vos, he appears kinda qualified. (I admit it is not the kind of comparison one would put on one’s CV).
      Do you have some more specific chips with Mr Mnuchin?

    2. “sixth-grade understanding of economics”

      That’s being overly generous. To Trump, supply and demand means he gets what he wants.

  25. Article 3 – The Judicial Branch
    Section 3 – Treason
    Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
    The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
    Note:
    Article III, Section 3 — Treason
    The authors were concerned about the definition of treason. They thought that it was used too broadly to define any dissenting opinions. Their new country would be much stricter about what treason was, and how one would be accused and convicted of it.
    Treason, then, is defined only as going to war against the USA, or aiding the enemies of the USA. To be convicted, the accused must confess to treason, or be accused by two direct witnesses of the treason.
    The authors were also concerned that the person convicted of treason be the only one to suffer for the treasonous acts. The Constitution explicitly states that there may be no “corruption of blood,” or that the children and relatives of the traitor not be considered traitorous simply by relation; the “no forfeiture” clause basically means that once the traitor dies, “payment” for the crime ends.

    1. Treason means going to war against the US? You mean like what the Confederacy did during our Civil War, the same act of treason that is celebrated by so many racists and rednecks and…tRump supporters? Shocking!

      1. Very good. The last true act of treason was the confederacy itself. Additionally there has been no real call of treason since the second world war because that was the last time that there was a declaration of war. You cannot have treason without a declared war. Trump would not know this because he cannot read.

    2. Thanks, Bob. I’m not sure I knew much more than Trump about just what constitutes treason, and as always one is impressed by the foresight of the founders–it’s almost as if they foresaw today’s GOP!

  28. It’s a good thing for Trump that projection isn’t admissable as evidence in a court of law.

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