When Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Donald Trump rescinding her earlier invitation to him to address a joint session of Congress to deliver the State of the Union on January 29, saying that it should be rescheduled once the government is re-opened, she knew that she was hitting him where it hurts, denying him the opportunity to be the center of attention at a big extravaganza that would be covered by all the TV networks and where he would have the ability to lambaste Democrats for not funding his stupid wall and castigate them for all manner of things right to their faces without interruption, accompanied by applause from the fawning Republicans.
That Trump desperately wants to have this event became apparent when Trump sent a letter to Pelosi today saying that he would be coming to the chamber and giving the speech anyway.
President Trump’s letter to Speaker Pelosi on the State of the Union pic.twitter.com/B4QN9hDJnv
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 23, 2019
As one wag wrote on Twitter, this was typical of the kind of man Trump is, thinking that a woman is saying “yes” when she clearly says “no”.
Pelosi promptly replied, saying in effect “Uh, uh, na gonna to happen. Get lost.”
BREAKING: @SpeakerPelosi to decline steps to permit a State of the Union Jan 29 pic.twitter.com/ZDbKGjduNT
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) January 23, 2019
After being slapped down again by Pelosi, Trump seems to have got the message and is now saying that he will explore giving his speech at an alternate, yet unspecified, event . He can and does of course talk whenever he wants. But what he really wants is pomp and ceremony and it must really irk him that he is being thwarted by Pelosi and cannot intimidate her into giving him what he wants.
In my opinion, this annual event is an utter waste of time (like the annual White House correspondents dinner) and my hope is that this spat will kill it forever.
Can’t; it’s in your Constitution, that sacred document (Article II, Section 3).
(No specifics on when and where, I note)
John @1: Until 1913, it was commonly just a written report presented to Congress. So none of the hoopla is required.
Rob, sure. As I see it, this is part and parcel of the Trump administration’s (he’s not the only one to blame) ongoing demolition of ethos, protocol and tradition. The Kavanaugh confirmation was one glaring example.
Perhaps there was a bit too much reliance on those, too many unstated norms that were falsely seen as conscriptive.
Big problem to me seems to be the “sacred” nature of the Constitution, and the ever-ascending bar to further much-needed amendment.
—
Still, IMO the USA has seen worse crises and made it through; and whatever its (numerous) implementation flaws — many of which are (again) due to the obsolence of previous instantiations — its system is still philosophically sound (the formal separation of powers in particular). It certainly ain’t hopeless.
Separation of powers is a bit… lackluster at the moment with the court system essentially being held hostage without funding.
Oh man, can Donald Trump get any more pathetic?
Just wait.