Will This Move Backfire On Pelosi?

Pelosi disinvites Trump from State of the Union to prevent him from making his case for a wall

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Jay Baker

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Since 1913 the president, at the invitation of the speaker of the House, has delivered a State of the Union Speech to Congress. It looks like that won’t be happening this year.

Citing security concerns over the government shutdown, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called off the SOTU. But Politico reports that Pelosi’s real fear is that Trump would use the address – which is always nationally televised and watched by millions, even those that don’t follow politics closely – to make his case for a border wall and that Democrat obstructionism is behind the government shutdown.

The Democrats are working hard to hold their ranks in line, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Pelosi meeting behind closed doors with the Democrat caucus in advance of a Wednesday afternoon meeting between Trump and the Democrat Problem Solvers Caucus.

While the tradition has been that the speech is given before a joint session of Congress, nothing in the Constitution requires the president to give a speech at all. Until 1913 presidents simply delivered a letter to Congress on the State of the Union.

In recent years the speeches have become long, drawn out boring affairs of Kabuki Theater with politicians from showboating by either jumping to their feet and applauding points made by the president or sitting on their thumbs with dour faces when they disagreed. The presidents have used the speeches to highlight pet policy positions for the coming year – glorified campaign speeches, if you will.

So Trump can either send a letter to Congress, or he can make the address from the White House or in any venue he chooses.

Trump is said to be preparing a response to Pelosi’s move. Pelosi – and much of the leftwing nattering class – think the Democrats have made a power play and will own Trump over the disinvite.

I’m betting Trump will end up the winner in all this. He’ll make a speech flanked by a select crowd of “Angel Moms” (who have lost their children to crimes by illegals), border agents and others, and he’ll cast the blame for the shutdown where it belongs – recalcitrant Democrats and corporatist Republicans.