On Tuesday, after three years of becoming USA President, Donald Trump theatrically made a prime-time appeal for the success of his stewardship. Throughout his speech, the President tried to project confidence about how a strong US economy has taken the country on the right path despite his undergoing historic impeachment trial that has become a blot on his tenure as the nation’s head.
During his third State of the Union address – it was also the final one before Americans cast their vote on his future this fall – Trump did not mention the impeachment battle that has, for months, become a nightmare for him. Trump’s Democratic adversaries even voted against the President in the House chamber on the ground of a serious charge of power abuse and obstructing Congress nearly two months ago.
But it was hard not to feel political acrimony in Washington throughout the evening. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and many other prominent Democrats boycotted the address and a few others chose to walk out during Trump’s 77-minute speech. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was standing behind Trump on the stage, tore up a printed copy of the remarks when the President was seen enjoying loud applause from the audiences after his speech,
Trump resorted to personal attack and fiery rhetoric during his fierce fight to save his political career from impeachment. But yesterday, he refrained himself from making any derogatory comment. Unfortunately, while offering an implicit argument that the country has prospered and removed him from office would be an act of foolishness, he never minded using inaccuracies and keen partisanship in his more than hour-long speech.
“In only three years, we have successfully upset the attitude of American decline and refused downscaling of our destiny”, he said with a tone of pride. “We are now inching forward at a great pace hardly imaginable even a while ago and we are not going back”.
Spare me. Your ripped up Trump’s speech. pic.twitter.com/594nUA9vjp
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 5, 2020
The ambiance was extraordinary and in stark contrast of animosity between the President and Democratic lawmakers as he was almost on the verge of becoming the third president to be impeached in American’s political history. Trump vented out his anger over House Investigation that sought to find if he persuaded the Ukraine President to carry out an investigation into Joe Biden, ex-vice President and a Democratic presidential contender.
Aides insisted that “The Great American Comeback” was the subject of the speech but the theme could be easily thought as a reference to the President’s political future and fortunes. A recently conducted poll reveals 49 percent rating for job approvals, the highest since his becoming the US President, and also drops a powerful hint that the Republican-controlled Senate will most likely to acquit him of the charge on Wednesday.
Vice President Pence and Pelosi stretched her hand to shake but withdrew it awkwardly as Trump did not reciprocate the advances after handing the hard copies of his remarks. It might be due to a lack of coordination between the two most powerful political personalities as whether Trump saw her gesture is not clear. According to reports, they have not been on speaking terms for months since the vice president confronted the President in a White House meeting on Syria and walked out with other democratic leaders.
