Think about you’re President Donald Trump. Or possibly you’re certainly one of Donald Trump’s political advisers or his youngsters, one of many ones who doesn’t need all these crypto and A.I. trades you’ve been making to begin getting investigated by congressional Democrats. So that you’re there, and also you’re planning out the State of the Union. What would you do? Properly, you’d in all probability begin with an issue that it is advisable clear up. The problems that bought you elected in 2024 have was large vulnerabilities in 2026. Return a yr. Return to February 2025. Immigration is your strongest difficulty. All these weeny liberals taking a look at your approval score can see it proper there in Nate Silver’s ballot tracker. Your internet approval on immigration is round 10 %. Which means 10 % extra of the nation approves of the job you’re doing than disapproves of it. Suck it, liberals. Quick-forward a yr. Your internet approval on immigration is damaging 13 %. Immigration has gone out of your strongest difficulty to a motive the nation dislikes you. Or take the economic system. In early February of 2025, you have been doing fairly effectively: plus 7 %. However then got here the tariffs. Now your internet approval on the economic system is damaging 17 %. And it will get worse. On commerce it’s damaging 23 %. On inflation? Adverse 30 %. Adverse 30 %! So now it’s State of the Union time. You’ve this uncommon alternative to handle all the political system, all the nation. So what do you do? Do you inform the American individuals you’re engaged on it? That there’s disruption and tumult, it’s simply going to take a while for all these insurance policies to repay? Do you inform the American individuals you hear them, and also you’re going to alter course, that you simply’ve bought a brand new plan? Or do you inform the American people who they’re improper? That every part is definitely going nice. That they need to imagine you, not their mendacity eyes and empty wallets and the movies of chaos of their streets. On the State of the Union, Donald Trump decisively selected door No. 3. At over an hour and 45 minutes, this was the longest State of the Union in recorded historical past. He had a whole lot of time to make his case. And what Trump mentioned many times was that the American individuals don’t know what they’re speaking about. “At this time, our border is safe. Our spirit is restored. Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising quick. The roaring economic system, it’s roaring like by no means earlier than. And our enemies are scared. Our army and police are stacked. And America is revered once more, maybe like by no means earlier than.” [Applause] I’m not going to undergo a fact-check of the president right here. Donald Trump will not be a truthful man. Folks didn’t vote for him believing him a truthful man. They voted for him believing he may clear up their issues. However what I’ve more and more puzzled over the previous yr isn’t whether or not Trump is being truthful with us, however whether or not he’s being truthful with himself — or whether or not the individuals round him are. What does Trump know? What doesn’t he know? He presides over these cupboard conferences — you possibly can watch them — the place one company head after one other tells him how nice he’s doing, how unbelievably effectively his presidency goes. “Thanks in your management, in your boldness, in your readability, for widespread sense.” He doesn’t learn prolonged briefing books. We all know that. He doesn’t preside over a traditional coverage course of. He communicates on a social media website he owns that’s crammed with individuals who like him. He throws himself parades. He has adopted the clichéd authoritarian behavior of forcing individuals to sit down by way of these record-length speeches. And sure, it an incredible present of dominance to make Speaker Mike Johnson nod and clap and grin for that lengthy. However the query right here is: What if Trump believes all of it? What if he believes all people in that room — or not less than Republicans — like nodding and grinning and clapping for that lengthy? What often saves authoritarians is their management over the system — their energy, their potential to oppress elections, opposition events, the media. You probably have sufficient energy, you possibly can bend politics to suit your actuality. However Trump isn’t an authoritarian. Not but. Not that sort. He’s a wannabe authoritarian who doesn’t have the ability to interact in that form of systematic repression. He simply misplaced a serious tariff case on the Supreme Court docket. Jimmy Kimmel continues to be on the air. Individuals are fortunately unafraid to criticize their president. And Republicans are dropping elections left and proper. And in that world, it’s a large political drawback for this president and for the Republican Occasion that Donald Trump is lecturing the American individuals slightly than listening to them. As a result of what Trump spent nearly two hours saying on the State of the Union should have been music to Hakeem Jeffries’s ears. Trump mentioned he has no reply to the issues which are dragging down his presidency. He mentioned he doesn’t want a solution to the issues dragging down his presidency as a result of there are not any issues. Every little thing goes nice. And who round Donald Trump will dare inform him in any other case?
