Last night, Trump delivered the State of the Union, in which he spoke for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Thankfully, Stranger editor Hannah Murphy Winter watched the whole thing and is here to summarize:
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s State of the Union wasn’t a speech, it was a show. Like Bob Barker telling contestants to “come on down!” he trotted people through Congress like props: the Team USA men’s hockey team, military vets, victims of violence that he claims was done by undocumented immigrants. The Republican side of the chamber were a willing studio audience. They repeatedly broke into chants of “U-S-A,” stood up and cheered when he told them to, and made sure to make a clear contrast between them and the Democrats, so Trump could tisk and tut at how shameful it was that Democrats didn’t back his common sense agenda.
But did he say anything? The SOTU is usually used to unveil important new agendas from the executive, but the speech itself was extremely light on actual policy. He stared down the Supreme Court justices at the front and told them he’d be using his presidential power to restore his tariff program. He called Venezuela our “new friend and partner” after bombing them and capturing their president. He celebrated the “end of DEI in America.” He claimed that we were a “dead country” before he took over, and once again claimed that this should be his third term in office. All things we’ve heard before, and all things that shouldn’t feel normal on a national stage. (Or any stage, really.)
Clap Backs: A lot of Dems boycotted the speech, and at least one walked out in the middle of it, but there were a few that stayed to protest. Rep. Al Green was kicked out of the chamber for holding a sign that read “Black People Aren’t Apes!” And Rep. Ilhan Omar appeared to actually get a rise out of him for shouting “you have killed Americans” over and over again while he talked about immigration enforcement.
Now, the rest of the news! I don’t know why I excitedly put an exclamation point there. It’s not like it’s good news.
My Hockey State of the Union: As a long-time hockey fan who has struggled to remain a hockey fan in the face of, you know, the NHL consistently being full of misogynistic bootlickers, I had some thoughts about the current state of the sport. TLDR: Men bad, women good.
Amazon’s Moving Out: In May, Amazon will vacate the seven-story, 251,000-square-foot building on Terry Avenue that it has occupied since 2014. Good! Maybe there will finally be room on the 8 during rush hour! But don’t assume it’s due to staff shortage after the company laid off 2,300 Washington employees in October and another 2,200 in January. Amazon is still building new offices out in Bellevue.
Nurses Are Moving Out, Too: Hundreds of nurses are leaving the US to work in Canada, citing Trump’s politics as an impetus, according to NPR. Last year, the Trump Administration said it would reclassify nursing as a nonprofessional degree. This isn’t gonna help our national healthcare worker shortage.
CARE Says Cops Don’t Care: Yesterday, Amy Barden, the head of Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE), said that the contract the City signed with the police officers’ union is getting in the way of her team helping people in need. According to the Seattle Times, “Alison Holcomb, Mayor Katie Wilson’s chief public safety adviser, said they’re consulting with the city attorney’s office on how to interpret the contract.”
Will Ferguson Get His Ferries? The Washington State Ferry system is in a bad way. Boats are old and broken and in dire need of updates. But the new transportation spending proposal doesn’t include the $1 billion Gov. Bob Ferguson wants to borrow to modernize the fleet. I have an idea of how to solve this, actually. I can’t be the only one who would watch the fuck out of a Below Deck-style reality show centered around the ferries, right? Think of the drama! Someone call Andy Cohen.
Oh, Thank Goodness: Sure, the Mexican army just killed one of the country’s most notorious cartel leaders, and the cartel has retaliated by going on a violent rampage with more than 70 attacks reported across more 20 states, including at least 60 incidents of arson, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino has “complete confidence” the country can host World Cup games in June. “We are convinced that everything will turn out for the best.” Tell that to the more than 70 people who’ve died.
More Epstein Files Fallout: Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland is reportedly in critical condition after attempting suicide. Two weeks ago, Jagland was charged with “aggravated corruption” after the latest batch of Epstein files. He denied all charges.
Cute Palette Cleanser: The New York Times’ Vows section profiled Eleisa Rossel Aparicio and Thomas Lucas Wolter, the couple who got for real married during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show. They look so happy!
Cottage Palette Cleanser: The Heated Rivalry “cottage” will be available to rent via Airbnb starting March 3. But that couch looks uncomfortable, tbh.
If You Care: This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees are Phil Collins, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, Oasis, Pink, the Black Crowes, Jeff Buckley, Melissa Etheridge, Billy Idol, INXS, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, New Edition, Sade, Shakira, Luther Vandross, and the Wu-Tang Clan. Cool, I guess! I mean, it’s a list of very good artists! But I do not give a shit about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sorry, Cleveland.
And now, I will use that news as an opportunity to post one of the greatest songs and music videos of all time.
But you should also watch his performance of the song at Live Aid in 1985. That cringe he does when he hits that wrong key in front of 160,000 people? He’s such a relatable dork, I love him so much.
Megan Seling
Source link