Posted on 01/24/2019 10:00:46 AM PST by Kaslin
The last column I wrote for this space called for a “People’s State of the Union,” a massive Donald Trump rally delivered in front of thousands of supporters, a sublime statement to Nancy Pelosi that said: “If you don’t want me in your room, I’ll find someplace else.”
It was fun to write, and fun to think about: a State of the Union speech transformed into a massive MAGA spectacle; she’d regret the snub for sure. Other creative ideas arose: deliver it at the border; deliver it down the hall in the Senate.
But late Wednesday night, the president decided there would be no alternative address, no high drama as he took to some other stage to hammer Democrats about the standoff that they could solve in an hour. He would in fact defer to Speaker Pelosi’s yanking of her House chamber invitation and schedule the address when the shutdown is over. “There is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber,” he tweeted, promising “a great State of the Union address in the near future.”
The immediate question was not whether his haters would celebrate this momentary surrender; they promptly did. On the left and among his tormentors who still think they are on the right, the mockery was instant, ridiculing a supposed tough, deal-making Trump for bowing to the superior skills of Nancy Pelosi.
But part of their glee assumed that his base would also see it as a dispiriting capitulation—that Trump supporters would recoil, slump their shoulders and wonder what happened to the fighter they voted for.
Well, he’s still there, and the mutiny is not happening.
The reason is clear: Trump is playing a long game here that extends far beyond a thumb in Pelosi’s eye delivered through some relocated State of the Union. His eye is on the only ball that matters—border security. And no matter how his maneuvers may strike any observer, one thing is certain: he does not do anything that he does not expect to accrue to his benefit.
So what are the benefits of bowing to Pelosi at this moment? As this week blends into the weekend, there will be deep examination of the president’s decision to delay his address. Some valuable takeaways will arise, foremost among them that it is Pelosi who offended tradition by rescinding an invitation issued after the shutdown began, and it is Trump who cleaves to that tradition by agreeing to wait until it can be delivered in its customary place.
This very behavior—letting her have her way for this chapter—is deliciously counterintuitive, disarming the critics who berate Trump as unable to restrain his bullying instincts. Now, not only has he offered DACA protections which are a worthy compromise to secure wall funding, he has now yielded when the world expected him to double down. There is one reason the State of the Union is delayed: Nancy Pelosi. There is one reason wall funding is blocked: Nancy Pelosi. These are valuable impressions that could solidify in the coming days, adding to pressure on Democrats to agree to a border security figure smaller than what government wastes over an average weekend.
Now fast-forward to whatever evening that actually finds us watching the State of the Union. There are clear benefits to the delayed gratification now underway:
The political theater of the alternative address would have been enormously satisfying for the base, but may have ultimately been empty calories. It would have been derided as a stunt if moved outside the Capitol, and surely attended by crowds of seething Trump-haters who would have received as much coverage as the supportive throng inside. Even if moved 200 yards down the hall to the Senate, Democrats would have boycotted, arguing that it was not a “real” State of the Union.
Well, it’s going to be real now. Real uncomfortable, for Democrats who will be tradition-bound to attend a speech guaranteed to contain a lengthy scolding by a president happy to regale the attendees with his take on why the government was shut down for so long, and why border security is so hard to achieve. That captive audience is just one reason why waiting will prove beneficial.
Another is the guest list. Any one of several important figures could have been brought to the stage at a Trump event substituting for the State of the Union, but welcoming them onto that famous House gallery balcony has even more value. Maybe that’s when a few maliciously maligned Covington Catholic High School students and families get a deserved recognition. And most importantly, it would be a fitting occasion to welcome some loved ones of Americans murdered by people who would not have been able to kill if stronger borders kept them out of the country.
So, sure, I would have enjoyed the opportunistically relocated State of the Union. But in sidestepping that tactic for the more traditional approach, displaying restraint and even accommodation of a political foe, President Trump positions himself for the far more important bottom line: fighting for the border security he has promised since he announced he was running for office.
Let mockers enjoy a day of finger-pointing. They will be disappointed when the Trump base does not peel away from him, and positively despondent when they see that once again, he knew exactly what he was doing.
You have the correct perspective on The Wall in my opinion.
He has more to gain than lose by declaring it worthy of Emergency Funding. All the nuance of ‘holding to tradition’ will be overlooked. There is not much about this presidency that is ‘traditional’ in the first place.
No one I reasd noticed, but Trump had a nice zinger in his message when he stated that she changed her mind, which is her prerogative.
On the one hand, it could be her prerogative because she is Speaker. On the other, it could be a reference to the saying “It is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind”. I am SURE that Mrs. Pelosi caught that and doesn’t like it. Those in the media won’t pick up on it because it has truth in it. She broke a formal invitation. Jennifer Rubin might write about it, because she unintentionally writes pieces that are utterly unconvincing but still reveal the anti-Trump psyche, and because she is not that clever.
I had hoped that Trump would pursue giving the speech in the Senate, forcing Schumer to join Pelosi in blocking Trump from speaking to the People.
The fact that we heard nothing serious about this happening (beyond Rand Paul suggesting it) tells me that McConnell wasn't going along with it for some reason.
My guess is that McConnell is too wedded to his precious Senate traditions, and he wouldn't use the Senate as a platform to make the Democrats look bad. McConnell probably felt that he has to work with them (they never work with him, only obstruct), but then, that's why our side never engages, I suppose.
-PJ
You know that pause when a golfer is winding up to tee off?
Looks like nothing’s happening there either ... then WHACK!! This situation might be like that, allegorically.
Look, all of us are small players anyway, we can’t control the politics ... BUT we’ve all seen enough of Donald Trump’s personality to know that -
(a) he’s smart;
(b) he can plan ahead strategically;
(c) he doesn’t back down from a fight.
So obviously he’s up to something, let’s all sit back and enjoy the show when the bleeding-hearts get walloped unexpectedly!!
They were out in full-force last night on FR, and they are described so well in this article.
I think it is as simple as Nancy told him she would authorize impeachment proceedings to emerge to the floor if he tried to test her authority. That’s why he used the word “prerogative”.
He could have ordered both Houses into a joint session under the Constitution and flexed his muscles, but he calculated it was not worth it.
Federal workers vote democratic. No loss at all for Trump at all.
Federal workers vote democratic. No loss at all for Trump at all.
Watching Pelosi throughout this spectacle, I can’t help but remember a quote from Foghorn Leghorn:
“She’s so dumb she thinks the Mexican border pays rent!”
BINGO!!!
It’s HER HOUSE....SHE CONTROLS IT AS THE SPEAKER!! He can’t just stroll in there! Geesh.
“Realize she is not negotiating”
He’s negotiating with voters who elect our congressmen (or is it congresspersons) and senators.
That is DISGUSTING to say!! You are obviously an ATHEIST.....UGH.
no wonder he’s losing.
If he wants my vote he will declare, build, and tell the judges they have no standing in an emergency. He doesn’t have to negotiate with me, he only has to perform.
My comment was to show that the most sophisticated negotiator cannot negotiate with someone with power, who will not negotiate. She is out smarting him so far.
Thanks NEWBIE for your wonderful insight.
The media likes to remind us that President Trump owns the government shutdown but what they don’t like to talk about is the fact that Pelosi owns any violence or death from an unsecured border. With the new caravan passing through Mexico presently, she is in an unenviable position.
I disagree. The Constitution requires the President to yearly inform Congress as to the state of the union but does not specify the method and in the last one hundred years has taken the form of a speech to the jointly convened Congress in the House of Representatives. Pelosi has disinvited Trump in a one-ups-manship move. However the Constitution also allows the President to convene Congress and he could use this power to humiliate Pelosi while giving his State of The Union address as she frowns in the background. But to do so would be portrayed by she and the media as “bullying” so he has chosen to take the high road to appear as the more reasonable person and thus play the long game after numerous concessions and offers to negotiate.
Uh, disgusting as it may be to you, I am a Christian who believes God lets us make our own mistakes and doesn’t take sides in politics and super bowls.
If God did the world would be abetter place.
Disagree. It’s the PEOPLE’S HOUSE, NOT Pelosi’s House.
LOL! That’s certainly possible! Of course, she (and/or her husband) probably does actually make money off of keeping the border wide open, one way or another...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.