By Kitty Testa
I’m inclined to agree with Thomas Jefferson that our custom of the President addressing congress is too much like a Speech from the Throne. Jefferson delivered his constitutionally required remarks to congress in writing, and many others have as well. But in recent times the annual address has become a television event in which the President addresses not only Congress, but the American people as well. It does feel monarchical, but that may be unfortunately appropriate in an era where United States presidents have been lauded, and now feared, as if they were kings.
The speeches are normally rather boring, in my opinion. The television cameras try to display the gravitas of the event, often settling on a snoozing Supreme Court Justice or a giddy and animated Vice President, apparently unaware that he wasn’t the occasion’s master of ceremonies. Most of what the president says is generally uninspiring and seldom unexpected. The president makes his case for a legislative agenda, often using the anecdotal stories of random citizens who just happen to be sitting with The First Family at the event.
But this is Trump. What could go wrong?
1. Trump Can Send a Company’s Stock Into The Gutter
Every CEO of every public company will probably be sitting on pins and needles during Trump’s address. Just last month, pharmaceutical stocks lost $25.6 billion in market cap during 20 minutes of a Trump press conference. In December, Boeing stock dropped as a result of a Trump tweet.
So which companies are at risk? He might go after the insurance industry, the auto industry—hell, he could go after the sidewalk chalk industry for outsourcing jobs to Mexico.
Should President Trump malign an industry or a company during his speech to congress, which isn’t unlikely, Wednesday’s opening numbers might be a royal headache for executives and investors alike.
2. The Democrats Will #Resist
I imagine those left of the aisle will probably be civil during Trump’s speech, but there’s also a chance that they show up with placards reading “NOT MY PRESIDENT” and “MAKE AMERICA SANE AGAIN.” What if they stand up and turn their backs to him? Awkward.
Some Democrats plan to fill the gallery with “DREAMers” and Muslim Americans. If they start angrily chanting, “LOVE TRUMPS HATE,” it will be a field day for the mainstream media.
Maxine Waters (D-CA) says that she will skip the speech altogether. I don’t always agree with Ms. Waters, but I think she’s on point in this case.
3. Trump Could Get Personal
The president has been sparring with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) lately. Pelosi accused Trump of being incompetent, and Trump has cleverly replied saying that Pelosi is incompetent. Pelosi’s Twitter account is a perpetual anti-Trump tirade (I think she tweets more than he does!), and the animosity could get ugly should Trump call her out by name during the address.
And then there’s Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who broke long standing SCOTUS tradition by expressing her negative opinion of Trump during the election. Is it beyond possibility that the president gives her the evil eye and demands that she resign during his address?
Trump may look out into the crowd of elected officials on both sides of the aisle and feel himself to be surrounded by enemies. Will he take a shot?
4. His Microphone May Not Work
We all remember that Trump complained of microphone problems during the first debate against Hillary Clinton. While many laughed at Trump’s assertion, the Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed that his complaint was valid. They did not, however, say whether or not it was intentional.
Trump has also been complaining that he has been contending with a bureaucracy devoted to Barack Obama ever since he came into office. He stated today on Fox & Friends that he believes that Obama is behind not only organized demonstrations, but White House leaks as well. Trump might want to vet the AV guy responsible for setting up his microphone in the Capitol Building, maybe see if the guy is willing to wear a MAGA hat in public. If there are any audio problems, look for a massive Twitter storm following the speech.
5. He Might Be Presidential
Although Trump can, in many ways, seem like the “un-president,” he can also gather a bit of serious calm about him from time to time and actually deliver a cogent argument. He’s not earned a reputation of handling dissent with aplomb, but that doesn’t mean he can’t. On those occasions when he does fill the expectations of how presidents speak and behave, it makes his ardent enemies look hysterical.
Trump is sure to face hostility as he enters the legislative chambers, but he might surprise the American people and handle the animosity with restraint and dignity. Maybe, just maybe.
And that would be a scorcher for his opponents. All he has to do really is to not be Hitler and plenty of middle-of-the-road Americans who are tired of the endless protests and shrill cries of resistance will take comfort in it. They’ll give him a chance and wait until next year when he delivers his first State of the Union address to decide if he’s accomplished anything.
There’s nothing in the constitution that says that the president has to deliver his remarks to congress in person, and there’s a part of me that wishes that the president would deliver his remarks to congress via Twitter. That would strangely be less awkward.