Sometimes, Silence Can Be Very Loud

 
I didn’t write about the State of the Union Address yesterday (other than an off-handed comment) because...well, I didn’t watch it.  Watch it??  For starters, I figured that most everyone would have a spot-on idea of exactly what he’d be saying (when you have dementia,  you tend to focus on the same things), that almost all of it would be lies, and that it would last a soul-numbing hour-and-20-minutes.  The only thing I got wrong is being short by a half hour.  So, why watch?  Any important moments would be shown afterwards on TV, and it would be discussed what was said.  Which turns out to have been pretty much what most everyone would have guessed and that almost all of it was lies.

(By the way, the ratings were four million fewer viewers than last year's speech.  So, between this and him hosting the lowest-rated Kennedy Centers Honors, he's on a roll.  Considering that yesterday he called for Robert DeNiro to be deported -- yes, really -- he may hate the Oscars so much that he'll ask to host them, ruin their viewership and go for the Trifecta.)
 
Three things stood out to me, though, worth mentioning.  One was more thematic, so nothing specific.  Another was small, but still has me shaking my head.  The other was basically (almost literally) nothing – but massive, I think.
 
First, the thematic thing is that a State of the Union Address is generally used by the president to set his agenda for the year ahead, so the American people can hear what he wants to do for the year ahead.  And most especially in an election year, this is a major deal for his party, because the president can set the agenda for all the races.  And as far as I can tell, though Trump spoke for an hour-and-47-minutes, he mostly talked about himself and all the great things he believes he did during the past year, and laid out almost no new programs ahead.  Which is really weird, and I’m sure it galled most MAGOPs running for re-election as a massive waste of the greatest bully pulpit evening a president has.
 
Second, the small but bizarre thing is that among the very few new programs Trump did announce, one was putting “JD Vance” in charge of a new “war on fraud.”  I mean, my god, of all things.  After all, if "JD Vance" really, truly wanted to find fraud, this is like the easiest job in the world.  The only thing he has to do is walk over to Trump’s office and knock.  For goodness sake, Trump was literally found guilty of business fraud. And further, he not only had his "charity" foundation shut down, but the reason given was for "a shocking pattern of illegality."  Besides which, we know about so many other situations where Trump was sued for fraudulent business practices and settled out of court, most notably by plaintiffs who claimed to have been defrauded by Trump “University”.  So…yeah, Trump is on the warpath against fraud.  The only reason I can see Trump being interested in find out about fraud is if it’s to give him new ideas what to do when he leaves office.
 
And finally, there’s the third thing.  It’s was very small – literally – as part of the State of the Union Address, but massive (I believe) for what it says about Trump and the Mid-Terms.  There are several topics that Trump campaigned on in 2024, some major to him, but I think he only had one signature issue.  Immigration.  That’s the foundation of everything Trump ran on.  Open borders.  Illegals.  Mass deportation.  And moreover, that’s been signature to his actions since taking office.  Sending ICE and the Border Patrol and federalize the National Guard and even sending the Marines to Los Angeles.  And sending ICE and the Border Patrol and federalizing the National Guard to Portland – lying (of course) that the city was burning down.  Sending them to Chicago.  Arresting legal citizens.  Deporting people without due process.  Using brutality against neighborhoods.  Trump and MAGOPs in their vaunted “Big Beautiful Bill” a gargantuan budget for the Department of Homeland Security of $350 billion.  And a massive budget for ICE, making the most highly-funded military organization in the United States.  And Trump sent these federal agents into Minneapolis for 2-1/2 months – brutalizing the city, using teargas and pepper balls, injuring legal citizen, breaking apart families, sending people to detention centers without due process, and killing two innocent citizens.  And more.
 
This is Trump’s signature issue.  And its center of it -- his signature issue -- Minneapolis has been the core of daily headline news for the past 2-1/2 months.  And…and Trump did not mention one word about it!  His signature issue.  Battleground Minneapolis.  Operation Metro Storm.  Something that since last December, Trump, “JD Vance,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, ICE public relations, administration officials, MAGOPs in Congress and more have been lauding and defending vociferously and relentlessly daily, up until when they at last declared victory (!), that their mission had been accomplished a mere two weeks ago.  And in the State of the Union speech --- nothing??  Nothing???  Not one single word about what an amazing, tremendous, the best job ever that our troops did attacking our citizens.  If the speech's theme was "Winning!!", after 2-1/2 months, we were told two weeks ago that this was "winning" at its pinnacle.  And on Tuesday, with almost two hours of rambling to fill, Trump didn't say one word about Minneapolis.

Silence.  Crickets.
 
There’s only one reason I can think of why Trump wouldn’t mention one single word about Minneapolis, core to his signature issue.  And that’s because his whole staff was able to convince Trump that his actions in Minneapolis and on immigration are so deeply hated by the American public that it shouldn’t even be brought up.  His signature issue!  And so deeply hated that even Trump understood how disastrous it would be to say anything.  Which also means that -- if even Trump knew he couldn't even mention ICE and Minneapolis -- it will be incredibly difficult for MAGOPs to run on Trump and the party’s signature issue in the Mid-Terms.
 
Now, of course, that might not be the reason it wasn’t mentioned at all.  But any other reason I can think of doesn’t make the slightest sense.  This also doesn’t mean that Trump won’t send ICE and other federal agents into attacking other U.S. cities, and continuing his programs.  Just that within the party, they know that this is a horrible issue for MAGOPs, and if they do continue it (which I suspect they will), it will drive down Trump’s approval even more.
 
There is so much else to talk about with Trump’s speech, but…why?  It was what he talks about all the time anyway, and mostly lies.  But these three things – and most especially his not even mentioning his 2-1/2 month war against Minneapolis (!) – strike me as by far the most significant tent poles in his one hour-and-47-minute blather.
 
And again, above all, that Trump wouldn’t even say one word about a 2-1/2 month attack central to his signature issue.  In an election year.
 
He and those around him know they’re in deep trouble.
 
And this was driven home even deeper that very same night.  Because when the White House and MAGOPs began shouting his line about how his administration is winning!  Winning, winning, winning!! – there was something else taking place at the same time.
That something else has gotten little coverage, but while Trump was blathering for almost two hours, Democrats won three statehouse Special Elections.  And the one that is most stunning came in Pennsylvania.  Where in the previous race in 2024, it was a Blue district and the Democrat won by 31 points, but on Tuesday, as Trump went on and on about him winning, the Democrat won by 67 points!!!!!!  Getting 81% of the vote.

That can only happen because of three things – more Democrats were motivated enough to come out to vote, more Republicans were depressed enough and stayed home and – mostly –Independent voters swamped the polls.
 
That’s winning.