[tomder55]

Trump trolled the Dems during the State of the Union Address (SOTU) and they fell into his trap.
He brought up every issue that has 80% support in polls and forced the Dems to sit on their hands when he brought them up ;sometimes provoking outbursts from a couple of them.

SOTU: Trump Calls Out Democrats For Not Agreeing Government's Duty Is To Protect American Citizens, Not Illegal Aliens | Video | RealClearPolitics


BTW I hate these clapping seals moments . I also have to say Lindey Graham got more exercise standing and sitting than he has had in years.

His speech was pepper with these type of moments and the Dems consistently scowled . Transformer mutilation of minors (Trump said “Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy,”); men playing on women's teams ;illegal immigrant crimes . They even refused to stand up and applaud the US Mens hockey team gold metal . He pointed out that it is crazy to shut down DHS functions with a dispute of ICE . (and that is going to hit the fan soon as TSA airport security ;and the Coast Guard start missing paychecks ,and FEMA can't come to the rescue.)

Democrats even refused to stand for the sobbing mother of murdered Iryna Zarustaka, the Ukrainian refugee who had fled Ukraine because of the war only to be stabbed while seated on a North Carolina train. The murderer, DeCarlos Brown, was out of jail at the time .Trump said “How do you not stand? How do you not stand?”

Except for Fetterman (and Elizabeth Warren who favors some of Trump's more radical populist initiatives ) they looked angry ,radical and ridiculous .

Trump gave the Repubs their campaign themes to run on in the Midterms.These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy,” Run with it ;and hope that Trump stays on theme !!!! As Susie Wiles pointed out ;that is easier said than done.
Unfortunately Trump's drift towards economic populism moves him further left of conservatism adopting Bolshevik Bernie type rhetoric
Obamacare is the problem . He bashed insurance companies who profit from it. (maybe he's setting up another assassination of an insurance exec ;this time by a MAGA). He falsely blamed investment firms for the housing crisis . He asked Congress to codify his price controls on drugs .

The key issue in the race is still affordably .SCOTUS gave him a life line and he refused to grab it . He correctly pointed out that the economy we have he inherited from Clueless Joe and yes most of his economic initiatives have slowly improved the economy . But people see affordability every week . It hits their wallets and it is made worse by his tariff obsession.

On foreign policy he was right on . (although the claim he "ended 8 wars " is clearly an exaggeration ) I only have to note that Marco Rubio has moved up the ranks of 2028 contenders(“You have done a great job, great secretary of state. I think he’ll go down as the best ever.”) and Vance is falling like a lead zeppelin ;tasked with the job of cleaning up Minnesota type fraud .
Vance Announces Pause of Nearly $260 Million in Minnesota Medicaid Funding - WSJ

Read Trump's full 2026 State of the Union address | PBS News

[tomder55]

Republicans did not take long turning his address into a campaign ad .

Eric Daugherty on X: "�� BREAKING: A DEVASTATING new ad just dropped exposing Democrats refusing to stand for Trump saying, "the government should protect American citizens, not illegal aliens" BRUTAL camera angles of Democrats betraying America Blast this EVERYWHERE. �������� https://t.co/XyJopV19Kx" / X

They need to hammer this message home throughout the campaign.

Repubs have a bad habit of staying home when there is not a President heading the ticket . This is going to be a turnout election ;and the base needs to show up.

Regardless of ALL the Repub flaws ;an election won by the radical commies and near commie Dems (some of them posing as middle of the road trojan horses like Va's Abigail Spanberger ;who ran as a moderate ;and then introduced 5o new tax increases upon assuming office.)
The Dems can't win if they run on what they really believe. So they concoct a lie and state it repeatedly .
The Repubs need that kind of messaging discipline .