Friday Insights-March 7, 2025

The state of the nation is deeply troubled

Trump gives a 100 minute nothing burger speech. Photo via Wikimedia Commons, modified by author.

On Tuesday night, reverting to old habits, I took out a yellow pad and placed a pen next to it before sitting down to watch President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress. I planned to take notes on the speech, thinking this week’s Friday Insights would be easy to write. How wrong I was!

Trump’s 100-minute speech was more of a reheated MAGA rally than a report to the nation. Two notable things: The length was a record, and the Democratic legislators present had unusually troubled looks.

Trump was right when he chided Democrats that there was nothing he could say that could make them stand up or smile. This point was made, of course, to further belittle Democrats by making them look petty and weak.

One other episode was memorable. Texas Congressman Al Green (D) repeatedly heckled Trump and shook his cane at the President. Speaker Johnson had him removed from the chamber. Later, when President Trump proudly claimed that he had restored free speech, presumably by eliminating “wokeness,” Johnson clapped enthusiastically. Curious.

Yesterday, the House voted 224-198 to censure Green.

Trump’s speech included more self-congratulation than I recall in any other presidential address to Congress. He told applauding Republicans he had accomplished more than any president in history, including George Washington.

Not surprisingly, Trump did not brag about the stock market, which had a bad day after Trump signalled his intention to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada or his ambush of President Zelenskyy earlier in the week. (On Wednesday, a thirty-day delay was announced for some of the tariffs after automakers expressed alarm over the impact on their industry.)

By the end of Trump’s speech, my yellow pad was untouched. The President had not said anything worth writing down. It was all MAGA rally slogans, jabs at Democrats, self-congratulation, a couple of stunts involving special guests in the gallery, and a nasty targeted slur directed at Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). I suspect you know what he called her.

A highpoint of Trump 2.0?

As Trump’s speech ended, it crossed my mind that this administration is “peaking early.” His speech Tuesday night could prove to be the highpoint of his second term in office.

Courts are already saying “no” to Trump’s illegal annexations of legislative authority. The most recent setback for Trump was the Supreme Court declining to remove a lower court ruling blocking the administration from refusing to make payments on USAID contracts. I hope there will be more such rulings.

The public also is realizing that many of Trump’s actions are either blatantly self-serving (retribution against his perceived enemies) or will impact them directly (firing IRS customer service representatives and, incredibly, 80,000 people at the Veterans' Department, many of them veterans).

Trump considers himself a king and surrounds himself with people who agree. Fortunately, Trump is not a king. America does not have a supreme leader with legislative and executive authority. Just read the Constitution.

Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution established the House and Senate as the legislature to make the laws of the United States. Article 1, Section 8 specifies various legislative authorities. The list is lengthy, but is worthy of more focus than it is getting, especially by the White House:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;–And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Trump has seized much of the legislative authority that the Constitution grants the legislature. He is taking action that is not authorized by legislation, violating his oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution.

I’m not holding my breath for Trump to be impeached, convicted, and tossed onto the scrapheap of history, but believe that in the not-too-distant future Republicans will lose their majority in the House or, more likely, will suffer the defection of a sufficient number of Republican members to block much of his agenda.

I only hope it is not too late.

That’s it for today.

Of course, there is a lot more going on in the world than Donald Trump's antics, but as an American who fears the worst, I am most focused on him.

I will have more to say on Sunday. Have a good weekend.