State of the Union Or State of Paralysis?
America's two-party system is stuck. Republicans and Democrats cling to demonstrably bad policies that leave many voters with a choice between the lesser of two evils.
There is something amiss when members of a major U.S. political party refuse to prioritize American citizens over illegal immigrants.
At his State of the Union address, Trump challenged every lawmaker to stand who agreed with the statement: “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
Not a single Democrat stood.
During the Democratic-led administration of former President Joe Biden, the American border was essentially opened to tens of millions of unvetted immigrants from around the world. Trump’s promise to close the border was a major factor in his election.
Now Democrats are organizing around the country to prevent ICE from deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes here.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for not standing up,” responded Trump.
Another extremely unpopular issue for Democrats in 2024 was their support for transgender rights, including funding for “all medically necessary care for gender transitions” and guaranteeing transgender students access to facilities (i.e. restrooms) based on their chosen gender identity.
Despite their 2024 shellacking, Democrats are doubling down on support for gender ideology. This month, Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA) introduced the “Trans Bill of Rights” to amend the Civil Rights Act to prevent discrimination against transgenders.
One of Trump’s invited guests was Sage Blair, who claims school officials sought to socially transition her as a boy while “hiding it from her parents.” Trump called for a ban on transitioning children to a new gender against the parents’ will. Trump noted the Democrats lack of applause, stating, “Democrats are destroying our country.”
Not Alone
But the Democrats are not alone in pushing policy positions that are anathema to many — if not most — voters. Trump seems to be oblivious that his popularity is at an all-time low due, at least in part, to two issues.
A recent story by Axios shed light on a secret postmortem conducted by the Democratic National Committee of Kamala Harris’s 2024 loss to Trump. Her support for Israel in the war in Gaza was deemed a “net-negative” that cost her significant support, contributing to lower turnout or withheld votes.
Since Trump’s election, support for Israel has continued to erode. Most Americans — including Republicans — do not approve of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, and oppose sending additional economic and military aid to Israel. A poll in December found that only 23% of Republicans under age 45 and 31% of Republicans overall prefer a nominee who supports unconditional funding for Israel.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has been tracking public sentiment toward Israel in the United States since the 1970s. On a scale of 0 to 100, Americans’ average favorability rating toward Israel hovered around the 55 mark for the past five decades, whereas today it is sitting at a meager 41.
Clearly, support for Israel is not a winning issue for either party.
Yet, in his speech, Trump, claimed credit for negotiating a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, returning all hostages (living and dead), and bringing the conflict to “a very low level.” He failed to acknowledge that Israel’s has killed more than 600 Palestinians since the supposed “ceasefire,” and is expanding its theft of Palestinian land to include the West Bank.
Trump administration’s unconstrained financial and international support for Israel represents a serious electoral weakness for Republicans, just as it was for Democrats.
Epstein
Additionally, Trump did not even mention Jeffrey Epstein, the late pedophile and child trafficker who was chummy with politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties.
There was a palpable chill when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick entered the chamber. Many GOP politicians looked the other way. There was a moment when it was unclear whether U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would shake his outstretched hand, though Roberts did.
Lutnick misrepresented, on national television, the extent of his relationship with Epstein, who appears to have been a friend and business partner. If Lutnick was serving in Great Britain, rather than the U.S., he would be out of a job and possibly under investigation.
Why is Lutnick still representing the American people?
More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers invited Epstein survivors - women who said they were victims of sex trafficking by Epstein- to be their guests at the State of the Union. Will the issue go away because Trump chooses to ignore it? That’s unlikely. It will continue to erode his popularity.
To sum up, both parties are clinging to unpopular policy issues at the behest of lobbyists to bring money into party coffers. As long as this continues, American voters will be left to choose between the lesser of two evils.
The solution is campaign finance reform - so politicians represent voters rather than special interest groups and foreign states. But neither party is advocating that!