There were of course the traditional consensual tributes to war or everyday heroes. One of the first centenary African American war pilots. A soldier killed in action, or this mother hugging her very premature little girl. Likewise, all elected officials, Democrats and Republicans alike, stood up to applaud the mention of the law passed in 2018 against mass incarceration, the fight against the epidemic of opioid addiction, parental leave for federal civil servants. , or to greet a guest of Donald Trump: Juan Guaido, self-proclaimed president of Venezuela, on tour in the United States.
The taste of the supported staging of the president reached heights inspired by reality TV with the award of a scholarship to a deserving schoolgirl present in the stands, or with the live reunification of a private family since months of the presence of a father deployed in Aghanistan. But the tone and the content of the State of the Union address given on Tuesday February 4 was a reminder above all that this electoral year would also be the occasion of a merciless battle.
In his first two interventions, in 2018 and 2019, Donald Trump had slipped into the clothes of a conventional president. He got rid of it this time, instead endorsing those of the tribune adulated in rallies, adopting the terms applauded by his base and which bristle with his opposition. By inviting the elected representatives of the House of Representatives and the Senate to silence, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker (president) of the Lower House, freed herself from the protocol by refraining from pronouncing the traditional formula: "I have the great privilege and distinct honor to present to you the President of the United States", containing itself to advertise " the president of the United States ".
Political divide
The one who launched the President's indictment in September 2019, which was to lead to his acquittal by Senate Republicans on Wednesday February 5, reached out when Donald Trump gave him a copy of his speech. But the President of the United States, eager to turn to his desk, did not grasp it. And when Donald Trump reached the end of his speech, the announcer gathered the sheets he had given him and conspicuously tore them apart as a sign of disagreement. When questioned later, she found that "It was the most courteous thing to do, compared to the alternatives".
