PD Editorial: In this election year, state of the union is unsettled

No one should be surprised when a sitting president - of either party - turns an election-year State of the Union address into a campaign rally.

Donald Trump did exactly that Tuesday evening, declaring the state of the union “stronger than ever before” while delivering a glowing, if somewhat exaggerated, assessment of the U.S. economy.

He also served up plenty of red meat for his supporters - extolling gun ownership and prayer in schools, promising more conservative judges and denouncing abortion, “sanctuary” policies and socialism. Republicans chanted “four more years,” and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shredded her copy of Trump's speech before he left the rostrum.

The partisan reactions also said something about the state of the union, which might be described as deeply unsettled, perhaps more than ever before.

These are, as Trump asserted, good times for much of the nation. The expansion is in its 11th year, the longest of the post-war era. Unemployment is at a 50-year-low, with record marks for racial and ethnic minority groups. All Americans should be pleased.

But the president overstated the strength of the economy. Just last week, the Congressional Budget Office reported that GDP grew by 2.3% in 2019 - the weakest showing since 2016, when Trump was denouncing “American carnage.”

His favorite trade tool - tariffs - is taking dollars out of the pockets of consumers, who account for 70% of the American economy. In his speech, Trump proclaimed “amazing new highs” for consumer confidence - on the same day Macy's announced plans to close a quarter of its stores.

The federal budget deficit, which dropped to $438 million during the Obama administration, is at $1 trillion and climbing, according to the CBO. As a result, the national debt has doubled on Trump's watch. Unless there are changes before the economy stalls, the federal government won't have its usual tools to cushion the fall.

Presidents often use the State of the Union address to lay out a legislative agenda for the year. Trump, whose biggest legislative achievement to date was a tax cut in 2017, didn't bother.

Dozens of bills passed by the House in 2019 have been ignored by the Senate, and there is no sign of compromise in Congress, or leadership from the White House, on infrastructure spending, immigration reform, election security and myriad other issues that call out for immediate action and bipartisan cooperation.

Nothing is more pressing than climate change, but Trump, who recently mocked climate activists as “prophets of doom,” offered only a plug for a private campaign to plant 1 trillion trees worldwide to draw carbon out of the atmosphere. Much more American leadership is needed.

Trump almost certainly won his biggest legislative victory for 2020 on Wednesday, when his impeachment trial in the Senate - which went unmentioned in his speech - ended in acquittal on a vote that fell almost entirely along party lines.

The outcome was expected, just as electioneering in the State of the Union address was predictable. In his speech, Trump mixed made-for-TV spectacle with politics to remind supporters why they voted for him four years ago while, no doubt, reinforcing critics' desire to see him unseated in November - when voters get the final say on the state of the union.

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