Trump addresses Congress as the union tumbles into disarray | Editorial

In delivering the State of the Union, presidents often proclaim the country is strong.

And while Donald Trump’s speech before Congress is not technically the annual address (it may feel like a year, but it’s been less than two months since the inauguration), the claims of a strong nation will likely be the first of many lies he tells Tuesday night.

If anything, Trump’s bullying and bombast are making the country weaker by the day.

The damage has been reckless, pointless, and sometimes illegal. There is no plan — not even concepts of a plan — beyond further enriching billionaires, hollowing out institutions, moving the country backward, upending alliances, harming the environment, and inflicting unnecessary pain at home and abroad.

Presidents are supposed to unify and strengthen the nation. But in a matter of weeks, Trump has diminished and destabilized the United States.

The order of each day has been chaos.

Mass firings of roughly 300,000 federal workers so far — including many who voted for Trump — have needlessly upended lives and the economy.

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This hostile takeover of the federal government has been led by the unelected and unaccountable billionaire Elon Musk. It is unclear if his role at the made-up Department of Government Efficiency is even legal — or if he appreciates the irony that indiscriminately slashing jobs will only make the government less efficient.

The layoffs are already impacting workers across Pennsylvania and in Philadelphia. And the fallout is still in the early stages and will likely get worse.

But Trump’s actions have already weakened a U.S. economy that, before the election, was called the envy of the world.

Under Trump, consumer confidence has plunged, hiring has slowed, and inflation has increased.

Trump’s erratic trade policy is fueling uncertainty and slowing interest rate cuts. The stock market plummeted Monday on news he would go through with imposing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Meanwhile, the price of eggs keeps climbing.

A purge of career U.S. Justice Department and FBI officials struck at a pillar of what separates America from other countries. Some scholars believe we are already facing a constitutional crisis.

Trump’s release of more than 1,000 convicted criminals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection undermined the rule of law and made the country less safe. Dropping federal corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams spurred a mass resignation of career prosecutors who objected to a deal that could not pass the smell test.

Trump’s appointment of unqualified cabinet officials further undermines confidence and credibility. No one who believes in science trusts Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to manage measles outbreaks, the largest of which has killed one unvaccinated child in Texas. Measles cases have now been reported in New Jersey and Montgomery County.

Trump’s job cuts and rollback of regulations will make the workplace, food supply, and health systems less safe. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was scrambling to rehire workers whom Trump fired to help manage the bird flu outbreak. Hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees were fired even as a string of plane crashes has unnerved the flying public.

The only guarantee from the first chaotic weeks of Trump’s term is that the slashing of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts to poor countries will lead to an increase in death and starvation.

Still, a new low was reached on Friday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington seeking support in the three-year war started by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

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Instead, a childish attack on Zelensky by Trump and Vice President JD Vance turned into the most disgraceful spectacle the world has ever witnessed inside the Oval Office.

Zelensky was thrown out of the White House after he has displayed nothing but courage and strength in standing up to the gruesome war crimes inflicted on his country by Putin. Republican lawmakers mostly looked away.

Every past American president stood with allies like Ukraine and defended attacks on freedom and democracy — until Trump. The twice-impeached, convicted criminal occupying the White House has upended generations of American foreign policy that brought peace and prosperity to the free world.

Trump has turned his back on Ukraine and NATO. Worst of all, Trump has climbed into bed with Putin, a corrupt, former KGB spy with a long history of murder, and is now toeing the Russian party line.

Selling out Ukraine undermines America’s standing around the world. Trump has made America more isolated and less trusted. That will embolden adversaries and endanger national security.

There are indications the public has had enough. Multiple polls show the president’s approval rating slumping. A majority of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track.

Regardless, Trump will likely put on a fact-free show during his speech to Congress. But the sad truth remains: The state of the union under Trump is weaker and in disarray.