State of the Unions are seldom this melodramatic. The invitation of President Trump, the subsequent disinvitation by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the posturing in between dominated a week’s worth of news only to end late Wednesday night.
“As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative — I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over,” Trump tweeted at 11:12 p.m. when much of the East Coast was doubtless headed to bed.
“I am not looking for an alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a ‘great’ State of the Union Address in the near future!,” the president continued.
His supporters had insisted a strategic Trump was playing chess and a bumbling Pelosi, checkers. Last night the president seemed to pack away the board altogether.
Some on the Right like conservative radio host Steve Deace said the move was “the political equivalent of a presidential self-castration.” Further to the right, others like Yossi Gestetner said Trump didn’t blink so much as he “exposed Pelosi’s security excuse as a farce.”
The truth is somewhere in between. Trump was probably bluffing when he informed Pelosi early Wednesday morning via letter that he would honor her original invitation, that he would deliver the address as scheduled. Trump was also probably bored when he decided to end the staring match later that evening.
A second venue was always possible, either behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office or in front of the U.S. Senate as some had suggested. An audience would turn up for either way. But both locations would have been a downgrade, lacking the regular pomp and splendor that accompanies the address when delivered in the House of Representatives.
As the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker points out, a different venue would essentially mean delivering another stump speech. His base would have tuned in to watch. The rest of the country might have been annoyed at just another interruption of their regularly scheduled programming.
In the end, Trump didn’t like the idea of being the first modern president deprived of all the traditional ceremony that goes into the big address. Either because his bluff was called or because he was bored, the president blinked.
