In one of the longest State of the Union addresses ever, President Trump gave Americans a lot to think about regarding his presidency thus far. America’s leader was uncharacteristically disciplined last night, electing to stick to the teleprompter instead of veering off-script, as he is prone to do. The speech, written by staff secretary Rob Porter and controversial senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, highlighted Trump’s “accomplishments” thus far and discussed his plans for the year to come. The president discussed tax cuts, the economy, immigration, bipartisanship, Guantanamo Bay, MS-13, North Korea, the opioid crisis, and many more at great length over the course of his eighty minute oration.
One thing he neglected to mention, however, is the most talked about issue in politics right now: Russia. Trump has often been vocal about his opposition to the special counsel’s investigation of his campaign, but spoke nothing of it on Monday night. In fact, Russia was only name-dropped once during the president’s speech when he deemed the country a “rival” to the United States.
Trump neglected to acknowledge the intelligence communities’ findings that Russia certainly interfered in America’s most recent presidential election and Putin’s close alliance with malicious Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. He also decided to forgo speaking about his refusal to impose Russian sanctions, despite signing the bill into law six months earlier, and neglected to bring up the allegation that he tried to fire Mueller last June.
After speaking on virtually every other subject the country faces right now, Trump’s omission of the current biggest story in Washington is significant. Even Republican Senator Joe Kennedy said he wishes the commander-in-chief would have talked about Russia sanctions in some capacity, but instead the administration figured Trump’s speech time was better allocated taking veiled shots at kneeling NFL players.
This president is not the first to remain silent on an investigation into him during the State of the Union. President Clinton did the same thing in his 1996 and 1998 addresses, neglecting to broach the subjects of the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals. However, his silence on the latter did not stop his inevitable impeachment later in the year.
During his State of the Union address in 1974, President Nixon took the opportunity to call for an end to the Watergate investigation. The tactic failed and he was forced to resign in disgrace seven months later.
Neither impeachment nor resignation must sound particularly appealing to President Trump. While he may have avoided the elephant in the room on Monday night, Mueller continues to investigate. With indictments already being handed down and more rumored to come soon, Trump is trying desperately to avoid a Nixon-esque ending to his brief tenure in the White House. He is hoping that revealing the Nunes memo to the public will exonerate him from any wrongdoing by discrediting his investigators, despite heavy opposition from both the FBI and DOJ.
Right now, President Trump and those around him seem to be trapped in quicksand. The more they struggle, the worse things will get. The situation is reminiscent of Nixon’s attempts to free himself from investigation during his presidency, ultimately leading to his inevitable downfall.
Only history will be able to decide if Trump’s silence on Russia during his State of the Union address was a good idea. His directives over the coming weeks regarding the Nunes memo and Russian sanctions will show which path he’s going to take regarding Mueller. Setting off a chain of events that lead to the dismissal of the special counsel would prove to be a foolish repetition of history. No matter what, this investigation will rage on and those who are guilty will have to pay the consequences. Trump can either let things play out without getting involved (an unlikely scenario) or expedite the process by interfering.
The president’s silence last night on the investigation and all things Russia related may have been for the best, but actions always speak louder than words. The actions he elects to take between now and his next State of the Union address will determine how this whole thing plays out. It may even determine whether or not he has a next State of the Union address.
Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo / AFP / Getty Images
