In response to Wayne Mayo’s letter “Trump makes America shine” (Our Readers’ Views, Feb. 7), while the president’s words may have encouraged some, I would argue that the State of the Union address was far from outstanding.
To start, the framing of the speech was disingenuous. In it, he describes the great “American Comeback,” illustrating a fictional period where American fortunes plummeted shortly before his election and rose rapidly during his presidency. In reality, the Trump administration has benefited from steady economic trends that began in the Obama administration, on which the president has had little to no measurable impact.
While Trump’s choice of guests might seem hard to criticize to some, several of them were inappropriate. It is clear what the president was intending when he introduced a mother with a baby immediately before talking about abortion. Using that child to support his views shows a complete disregard to the actual arguments for abortion. The most egregious guest was Rush Limbaugh, who was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, despite his consistently discriminatory and divisive views.
The only people that were encouraged by the president’s State of the Union Address were those who listened to his words while remaining completely ignorant of his actions.
