Who knew that a State of the Union address would feature more medal ceremonies than the Winter Olympics?

OK, it just seemed that way.  But the made-for-TV award-aganza – incredibly including, twice, America’s top military honor – was just one feature of perhaps the most spectacular event of its kind ever. 

“Spectacular” in the word’s original sense, “of the nature of a spectacle or show.” As in:

• The bombastic beginning: “Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before.”
• The theatrical call-in of the Olympic champion U.S. men’s hockey team, followed by the stunning announcement that its goalie would receive the nation’s top civilian honor.
• Honoring another American war hero whose believe-it-or-not 100th birthday will fall squarely on America’s 250th.
• A waitress reaping thousands in tax savings from the One Big Beautiful bill, and an infertile couple realizing YUGE Trump RX (“I didn’t name it that”) discounts for IVF. 
• A Houston mom outbid on 20 homes by investment firms, a practice targeted by a Trump executive order.
• A new “Somali pirate”-inspired War on Fraud initiative to be led by VP JD. 
• An adorable five-year-old, recovered from a collision with an illegal alien truck driver granted a commercial driver’s license, whose name will grace a proposed law barring the practice. 
• Heartbroken mothers of a cheerleader slaughtered in a bathtub by another illegal, and a Ukrainian refugee slashed by a troubled career criminal.
• A beautiful teenager whom school officials tried to transition to a boy while hiding that effort from her parents. 
• The grieving but unbowed widow of the martyred Christian conservative, Charlie Kirk.
• Topped off by the heartstring-tugging reunion of a just-released Venezuelan political prisoner with the niece seeking his freedom. 

But the chief executive’s oration was equally spectacular in achieving its dual objective: rebuilding the Republican brand for the all-important midterm elections while blunting the Democrats’ recent momentum in denting Trump’s Teflon armor.

The president’s strategy on the former: overwhelm his nationwide audience with his extraordinary accomplishments in one short year.

On the border. Inflation, especially gas prices. Job creation. Energy production. Record drops in crime. All-time stock market highs. Falling mortgage rates. Trillions in foreign investment. The DEI-mise. Reduced regulation and reliance on food stamps. 

His defense buildup. Exploding military recruitment. Peace deals, especially the return of Israeli hostages. Midnight Hammer in Iran, the Maduro removal, drug interdictions, action against cartels.

Plus some crowd-pleasing promises, including a new retirement plan with a federal match and affordable, transparent health insurance that cuts out greedy corporate middlemen.

All while carefully crediting “our great Republican patriots in Congress” who “delivered so beautifully” on “the largest tax cuts in American history,” especially “no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and (the) expanded child tax credit.” Who with him are the “only thing standing between Americans and a wide-open border.” And are why “we’re investing that record number of dollars in the Armed Forces.”

Best of all, Trump rewrapped his party in an optimistic, exceptionalist pride in an America celebrating its semiquincentennial. Complete with a closing assertion – “when the world needs courage, daring, vision, and inspiration, it is still turning to America, and when God needs a nation to work His miracles, He knows exactly who to ask” – that was positively Reaganesque in its sweep and lilt.

When the erstwhile reality-TV host maintains that “we finally have a president who puts America first. I love America,” it’s crystal clear that the sentiment is genuine. And widely shared on the GOP side of the aisle.

But the commander-in-chief didn’t just build up the Republican brand – he bulldozed his opposition’s. With characteristic ad hominem directness – and devastating effect – he hung back around Democrats’ necks the “affordability” millstone they’ve fitted for him:

“From trade to healthcare, from energy to immigration, everything was stolen and rigged in order to drain the wealth out of the productive, hard-working people who make our country great…. Now the same people in this chamber who voted for those disasters suddenly used the word ‘affordability’… knowing full well that they caused and created the increased prices that all of our citizens have to endure.”

“You caused that problem.”

Yet even more defining was his repeated, practiced exploitation of advanced Trump Derangement Syndrome to hogtie Democrats to the 20%-side of familiar 80-20 issues. Most tellingly: 

“I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support:

“The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

The predictable, brain-dead Democratic response? Sit on their hands.

Delivering a video snippet available for broadcast in attack ads days, nights, weekends, and holidays from now to Election Day.

How can a major political party be so dense as to traipse into such an obvious trap – as they also did on the SAVE Act requiring voter ID, favored by 9 in 10 voters, and on legislation to “ensure that violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars and … stay there”?

The answer can be found in a similar reaction to another Trumpian challenge. “Surely we can all agree,” intoned 45/47: “No state can be allowed to rip children from their parents arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will.”

Trump knows Democrats cannot and even dare not agree with such common-sense propositions – held hostage as they are by a radical fringe for whom to cede ground on nonsense notions is to admit to their wackiness.

His opposition having taken the bait again, The Donald slammed the door shut: “Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy.”

Yes, it’s a long way to November 3, and much can happen in the 301 24-hour news cycles in that interval. But in not just putting on a spectacle, but goading deranged Democrats to make a spectacle of themselves, the president neatly laid the groundwork to keep his party in power and his program for American renewal in place.

Bob Maistros, a regular contributor to Issues & Insights, is a messaging and communications strategist, crisis specialist, and former political speechwriter. He can be reached at bob@rpmexecutive.com.