How Trump squandered his State of the Union address

The president had an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. He wasted it.

Trump enters the House of Representatives chamber
(Image credit: Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

When President Trump stepped up to the podium for his first State of the Union address, he did so as the least popular president at this point in his term since the invention of scientific public opinion polling. The president's congressional allies spent the last few days laying down covering fire for his attempts to smear and bury the Russia investigation, even as it becomes more obvious every day that a gigantic political fireball is about to engulf this administration. Did the president do anything to change that toxic narrative, redirect public attention to his priorities, and rebuild public trust?

No, absolutely not.

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.