EDITORIAL – Should 51st State feel insulted at being ignored in speech?
Trump addresses Congress.
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
ADRIAN BRODY’s speech at the Oscars couldn’t match Donald Trump’s annual address to Congress last night (Tuesday, March 4, 2025) for being too long and too boring.
Watching and listening to the two-hour brag fest served up by Trump, one couldn’t help but hope for some exit music to get him off the stage.
In many ways, it was typical of these speeches to congress. The grand entrance, glad handing as the president gradually makes his way to the podium. The party not in power — which is currently the Democrats — refusing to applaud anything he had to say. In fact, in this case they indulged in more than a little heckling. One Texas Democrat even got removed from the hall.
Several other Democrats, wearing “Resist” T-shirts, walked out early. Others held up small placards that read “Musk steals,” “Save Medicaid” and “False.” At the end, all of them vacated with haste.
And there were the guests, families of the fallen and such, present to receive kind words from Trump. Not for any political advantage, of course.
The shameless speech was full of the glorious achievements of Trump and his team in only a few weeks in office. It is, he declared, the common sense revolution and “we will never go back, never.” Waste is being exposed wherever it tries to hide. “We will restore true democracy to America again.” With each claim of past corruption or current achievements, of course, “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.”
Joe Biden got blamed for everything that’s bad, including the price of eggs.
But wait a minute. Where was the 51st state in all this? Barely got a mention, is where. And not as the 51ststate but simply as a nation that is subsidized by hundreds of billions of dollars, and that has allowed fentanyl to pour across the line to kill countless Americans.
The tariffs thrown at Canada that very day were ignored, although Trump did mention that tariffs in general “will protect the soul” of the good old U.S. of A. And he did acknowledge that there “may be a little bit of an adjustment period” as tariffs are put in place.
But he gave us more space in a one-sentence Truth Social post yesterday than he did in front of Congress.
Greenland got a lot more attention than Canada. Greenland folks have a right to determine their own future, said Trump, but he believes Greenland will end up being American “one way or another.”
This guy can’t make up his mind about anything. Should we feel insulted, shunned? Or maybe we should be thankful for being left out of the Trump news cycle for a day. But there’s always tomorrow.
Brody’s acceptance speech, by the way, set a new record for length at the Oscars. Trump, not wanting to be outdone, made the longest presidential speech ever to Congress. It’s a tossup as to which contained more bullshit.
Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
It is important for us to look at what Trump exaggerated rather than use Trump style hyperbole to exaggerate what he said. This rebuttal muddies the waters as this distorts reality, and by piling one on top of another makes it harder to sift out what’s actually being felt or meant.
If we are better, as we claim, leave the cartoonish version to Colbert and Fallon who did a great lampoon last night but we must understand before we can resolve the real thing. Hyperbole begets hyperbole, and suddenly everyone’s yelling about nothing.
When we don’t have facts, people resort to yelling, or the CAP LOCK. What was Trump’s keynote speech to Congress about which 44% of Americans approve and over 50% of Congress applauded. There were lots of signs, chants and hecklers but there were lots of ovations as well.
I think all of us agree that the Ukraine conflict is “senseless” In every divorce there are two sides and usually there is a third party and Canada is not innocent.Why? Panama and Greenland as I said before, nations don’t have friends they have interests.
Illegal immigration our problem as well which sometimes we treat hypocritically. What about “the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies,” and “woke no longer” this is a legitimate issue world over with which many families struggle.
On balance, including these topics could enrich school curriculum if the aim is understanding, not persuasion with tight guardrails: transparent syllabi, opt-in/opt-out options, and a focus on primary sources or data over interpretation. Like in any profession the kicker is how can it be done? Cell phones and dress code come to mind.
LikeLike
Dear Mel. It has come to my attention that you referred to the speech to Congress as containing bs. This could be construed as bullying and you should take a pay cut and apologise to Doge ana Donald immediately. Thank you.
LikeLike