It’s all about The Wall, not the stupid SOTU.
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER IN THIS POLITICAL DRAMA THAT ARE ADVANTAGEOUS TO TRUMP:
1) Trump has also given the lie to caricatures of him as “impulsive,” “reckless,” and likely to blunder us into a nuclear war, views held as gospel among the NeverTrump faction of putative conservatives. He has done what wise leaders and generals do when confronted with an unexpected enemy move: he has read the terrain and order of battle and concluded that the odds do not favor him on the enemy’s newly defined terms.
2) Trump has removed a huge distraction from the real battle, over the border barrier, and the Dems’ refusal to fund the federal government with a physical barrier funded. They are stuck with the position of telling federal employees that it is more important to prevent obstructions to illegal entry by foreigners than it is to pay them. They are stuck with the fantasy that walls are outdated, and useless, something so stupid that only an intellectual would believe it. Trump has a wining hand, and time is on his side.
3) Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to constitutional governance, including the specifics of executive, congressional, and judicial power. This is crucial, because both the legislative and judicial branches have disregarded their responsibilities and limitations, and Trump has many fish to fry when it comes to challenging them on their power-grabs and defaults (federal district court judges in Hawaii overruling presidential prerogatives in all 50 states and Congress defaulting its legislative responsibilities in favor of administrative law created by bureaucrats, for example).
4) Some might claim that Trump made a mistake by initially challenging Pelosi over her slap in the face by withdrawing the invitation. But quietly complying would have been a mistake. She offered a phony excuse of security concerns and has now been revealed to have lied to the American people. And, it is clear, Trump needed to explore options, including an alternate location for a SOTU.
5) Incidentally, he still has the option of delivering an address on January 29 that won’t be called a SOTU, but which will draw extra attention, even from the networks (all of them but Fox News) that will not televise it.
I'm still going to have to sit behind him when he does give the SOTU.
I wonder if Trump TIMED his “we should have the SOTU anyway” letter so that Botox Nan would be guaranteed to reject anything coming out of he Senate, this week.
She sees no need to compromise, and that maybe a prerequisite for what comes next.
Section three, Article two not only instructs the President to advise the Congress on the state of the union, it also gives him the power to convene Congress unilaterally without seeking the permission of Congress. The President could therefore convene Congress and give his State of the Union address if he so chooses. But in this game of brinksmanship with Pelosi, to do so would be portrayed by she and the media as “bullying” so he has chosen to make her the bad guy. Smooth moove.
He’s waiting for RBG to retire.
The best way to break this log jam IMHO, declare war on the Mexkcan Drug Cartels. Remove their bribery funds and they will come to the table.