Trump's State of the Union Was a Bloated Awards Show

"The speech was very long primarily because of its extraordinary number of gimmicks, theatrics, and props, with multiple medals being awarded right there in the gallery, and the speechifying being regularly interrupted with extra-long standing ovations from the Republicans in the room. For a while, you felt that the veteran TV star at the podium was channeling Oprah, showering awards on the worthiest people in his studio audience."

"The address did not, however, break any significant new ground. He had one surprise, an endorsement of a ban on insider trading by members of Congress, and one relatively novel (already leaked) proposal: a deal with tech companies to absorb utility costs created by their AI data centers. But that was about it."

"The first half-hour of the speech was the familiar 'American carnage' litany of bile hurled at Joe Biden's administration, with the usual lies and exaggerations designed to make Trump's record look better by making his predecessor's record look dark and even sinister. Then he moved into his own economic agenda, and visibly lost momentum."

Trump's 2026 State of the Union Address set a record for length, but relied heavily on theatrical elements, award ceremonies, and extended standing ovations rather than substantive policy announcements. The first half-hour featured familiar criticisms of the Biden administration with exaggerations designed to contrast with Trump's record. His economic agenda section showed diminished momentum, including a notably emotional response to the Supreme Court's tariff decision. The speech introduced minimal new proposals: an endorsement of congressional insider trading bans and a leaked plan for tech companies to absorb AI data center utility costs. The address largely adhered to script rather than featuring improvised attacks, making portions appear unexpectedly subdued until reaching culture war topics.

Read at Intelligencer