Opinion | We should celebrate the State of the Union
Jordyn Carrido
Senior business administration major
My favorite version of President Donald Trump is a scripted President Trump. Do I laugh when he says dumb things on Twitter? Yes. Do I think it’s a good thing to do on principle? No. Is it funny to watch him call his opponents names as if we were all third-graders? Often times, yeah. But is it smart politically? I would argue no.
But that’s why I think President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 4, was spectacular. He stayed focused, on message and he hit all the right notes, particularly with his honored guests. From inviting guests such as the rightful, democratically-elected President of Venezuela, Juan Guaido and Brigadier General Charles McGee, one of the few remaining Tuskegee airmen from World War II, to bringing home a soldier to see his family after a long deployment, President Trump brought me to tears multiple times throughout his speech.
I was particularly glad that I did not hear him mention impeachment once during his speech. That could’ve been a grand opportunity for the President to go full “Trump” and shred the Democrats for what turned out to be a waste of time. He was officially acquitted the next day, but instead he chose to only focus on all the great things that are happening in this country. Unemployment is the lowest it’s been in 50 years. Amongst women and racial minorities, unemployment is the lowest it’s been, literally ever. Fewer babies are being aborted, our second amendment rights are being protected, stock prices are soaring and the economy is booming. I believe he referred to it as a “blue collar boom.” The State of the Union was honestly pretty great. But you wouldn’t think so by watching the Democratic side of the hall during the speech.
Granted, I think the Republicans were a little overexcited; I could’ve lived with fewer applause interruptions. But there were several moments when an entire side of the aisle didn’t stand, even when what the President was saying fit right in with the issues they try to push. When he said that unemployment for ethnic minorities was at an all time low, I don’t think I saw a single Democratic congressperson stand. Why? When he talked about the Tuskegee Airman, no one stood to honor this American hero. Why? When a young black girl, Janaya, was given a scholarship to go to the school of her choice why did no one applaud? None of that made any sense to me. Are Democrats so determined to not support the President that they won’t support anything he does, even when it seems to benefit the types of people they claim to care about the most? I knew if President Trump mentioned any of his accomplishments regarding the Pro-Life movement or protecting our second amendment rights, they wouldn’t stand or clap. I expected that. But I didn’t expect them to be so disrespectful as to walk out in the middle of the speech or to rip it to shreds afterwards.
I’ll be the first one to say that President Trump can be petty. We’ve seen it time and time again. But Democrats can’t keep screaming and then turn around and do the same – and arguably worse – things. At the end of the day, we all need to work to make things better for each other in the political sphere. Be gracious with each other. If you have an opportunity to be petty or hurtful, don’t take it. The State of the Union is fantastic. Let’s start acting like it.