On Trump’s Address to Congress

A Campaign Rally in the Capital

Like many of you, I had low expectations for Trump’s congressional address earlier this week. Having seen the damage done by his policies and the chaos brought about by the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency”, I figured this would be more of a campaign rally than a presidential address.

While previous administrations have used congressional addresses as a means of delivering a message of unity and bipartisan compromise in times of division, the message this week was simple: either you’re onboard or you’re in my crosshairs. Trump is clearly aware that the flurry of executive orders signed by his administration is unprecedented and seems to enjoy personally undoing the policies of his predecessors. This is Project 2025 in action and will lead to a reshaping of the Federal Government if unopposed.

Beyond stunts like the “Gulf of America” and other surface-level displays of performative patriotism, Trump was proud to personally destroy the CHIPS act and the initiatives involved in the Green New Deal. In place of these efforts to revitalize American manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure, all his administration has to offer is deregulation of industry and punitive trade policies designed to punish the average American consumer.

Changes in the workforce and labor participation can unfold over at a glacial pace, meaning the job growth cited in the speech is momentum from the Biden administration. How many federal employees have Trump and Musk put out of work? How many careers have been upended by the blind, reckless cutting of federal funding? Ignoring Trump’s blatant misrepresentation of the programs cut by DOGE, have any of Elon’s interns determined which staff or what funding in the federal budget is actually “wasteful”? Considering that DOGE has removed numerous expired or duplicate grants from the “wall of receipts” and frantically rehired staff that manage our nuclear weapons, I’m going to guess that the answer is “no”.

The United States is facing the possibility of a self-induced trade war and the slow dissolution of the Federal Government, both of which Trump has managed to achieve with the full support of the GOP. Trump’s claim that he could cure a disease and the Democrats wouldn't support him is particularly bizarre considering how just five years ago his mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and the near-collapse of the economy. The Democrats are right to oppose this administration and I applaud Representative Al Green for his display of resistance.

When the results of Trump’s mismanagement begin to impact the average American, all he and his administration will have to offer his base is culture-war division. The Democrats should be prepared to capitalize on the coming discontent and fight back against this administration and their reshaping of the United States.