ANALYSIS/OPINION:

If there’s one thing President Donald Trump excels at as a politician it’s his uncanny knack to draw his opponents onto a high-profile, national stage where they reveal their ugliest traits for the world to see.

He was able to do it in the 2016 Republican primary multiple times. Think about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio beclowning himself with talk of small hands during a primary debate in Las Vegas. Think of his ability to draw biased journalists out of their fake objectivity during debates and subsequently in their every-day coverage of the president.

Again and again, those who oppose him are sidetracked and distracted by their own rage and frustration against a man they truly believe is not worthy of the position he has attained. He gets his opponents to reveal that rage and their hatred for Trump the man and in so doing, they reveal the worst in themselves.

And he did it again last night, in what was probably the highest profile moment of his presidency, his first State of the Union Address.

These events are always partisan affairs with the president’s “side” of the house chamber jumping to its feet and wildly cheering his proposals and achievements and the opposition party sitting in dour skepticism, refusing to show any support for the man they hope to defeat. It’s pretty standard stuff.

Except with Trump, everything is accentuated and amplified to level 11 like the speakers at a Spinal Tap concert.

The Democrats were so blinded by their hatred for Trump the person, they found themselves not just booing and mocking his policy proposals, but also the objectively positive conditions Americans are enjoying after the president’s first year in office.

When detailing the record low unemployment figures for African-Americans, the Congressional Black Caucus sat on their hands. In fact, they did worse than not react. When cameras focused on them as the president detailed the positive economic conditions for blacks in America, they looked angry.

Members of Congressional Black Caucus offer no reaction as Pres. Trump says “African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded” in #SOTU address https://t.co/q18EZzVe9p pic.twitter.com/Xxkqc7hFt9 — CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2018

Indeed, if Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) represent the future of the Democratic Party, the future is angry and old. Pelosi’s reaction to all of the good news for America became an instant GIF on social media.

Nancy Pelosi playing with her dentures during the #SOTU as Trump calls for the nation to come together. pic.twitter.com/dAYD2PeQCh — Ryan Saavedra 🇺🇸 (@RealSaavedra) January 31, 2018

And it’s a beautiful thing.

Pelosi the Congressional Black Caucus and activist members of the media who have spent the last year shouting at the American people for electing Trump, like to pretend that they are the reasonable ones in the room. They apply the veneer of judicious rationality in the face of Trump’s supposed irrational mania. And most Republicans are too terrified to defend Trump or point out the truly radical nature of their opponents’ view of America.

Last night, Trump did all the work himself. All he did was talk about the great things he (and most Americans) want this country to be and the Left revealed their contempt for him and, for America. It’s summed up perfectly in this response from MSNBC’s Joy Reid:

Church … family … police … military … the national anthem … Trump trying to call on all the tropes of 1950s-era nationalism. The goal of this speech appears to be to force the normalization of Trump on the terms of the bygone era his supporters are nostalgic for. #SOTU — Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) January 31, 2018

When “Church, family, police, military and the national anthem” are nationalist tropes that you and your party are lining up against, you’ve aligned yourself on the far-left fringe of America.

Of course, we know that Reid, Pelosi, Schumer and the Congressional Black Caucus have always been there on the anti-church, anti-military, anti-family, anti-police fringe. But last night, thanks to their blind hatred for President Trump, they let the whole country know where they stand.

Clarifying, isn’t it?

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