The Donald’s Brand-Building – And Bulldozing – State Of The Union Spectacular

Who knew that a State of the Union address would feature more medal ceremonies than the Winter Olympics?

OK, it just seemed that way. But the made-for-TV award-aganza – incredibly including, twice, America’s top military honor – was just one feature of perhaps the most spectacular event of its kind ever. 

“Spectacular” in the word’s original sense, “of the nature of a spectacle or show.” As in:

• The bombastic beginning: “Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before.”
• The theatrical call-in of the Olympic champion U.S. men’s hockey team, followed by the stunning announcement that its goalie would receive the nation’s top civilian honor.
• Honoring another American war hero whose believe-it-or-not 100th birthday will fall squarely on America’s 250th.
• A waitress reaping thousands in tax savings from the One Big Beautiful Bill, and an infertile couple realizing YUGE Trump RX (“I didn’t name it that”) discounts for IVF. 
• A Houston mom outbid on 20 homes by investment firms, a practice targeted by a Trump executive order.
• A new “Somali pirate”-inspired War on Fraud initiative to be led by VP JD. 
• An adorable 5-year-old, recovered from a collision with an illegal alien truck driver granted a commercial driver’s license, whose name will grace a proposed law barring the practice. 
• Heartbroken mothers of a cheerleader slaughtered in a bathtub by another illegal, and a Ukrainian refugee slashed by a troubled career criminal.
• A beautiful teenager whom school officials tried to transition to a boy while hiding that effort from her parents. 
• The grieving but unbowed widow of the martyred Christian conservative, Charlie Kirk.
• Topped off by the heartstring-tugging reunion of a just-released Venezuelan political prisoner with the niece seeking his freedom. 

But the chief executive’s oration was equally spectacular in achieving its dual objective: rebuilding the Republican brand for the all-important midterm elections while blunting the Democrats’ recent momentum in denting Trump’s Teflon armor.