By Kenneth Tiven
Donald Trump’s second term is shaping up to be an unhinged mix of chaos, consequence, and controversy—barely concealed in his combative, self-aggrandizing lecture to Congress. Proclaiming that America was “back,” that the nation’s golden age lay ahead, and that “momentum” had returned, Trump delivered the longest speech to Congress by any president—nearly two hours of braggadocio and grievance.
Trump has slashed military assistance to Ukraine and threatened to cut intelligence support, all the while bragging about berating Zelenskyy. This, as global markets shudder from US aid stoppages, the American stock market trends downward, and international confidence erodes. Trump’s economic whiplash—from imposing tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, only to temporarily lift them—adds to the uncertainty. He’s handed Elon Musk the power to slash government spending, supposedly to save money, but really to bankroll a massive tax cut for the wealthy. “Trade war” dominates headlines, and the Dow sits hundreds of points below its level on his second Inauguration Day.
Trump painted his second-term opening as a roaring success, but it’s more partisanship than policy, more ego than ideology. His opening remarks triggered wild applause from Republicans, while Democrats countered with jeers, placards, and a level of open defiance rarely seen in the chamber. The usual thin veneer of bipartisan decorum vanished. House Speaker Mike Johnson called for order, even summoning the sergeant-at-arms to remove veteran Texas Democrat Al Green, who kept shouting, “You don’t have a mandate!”—a pointed reminder that Trump eked out re-election with barely 50.1 percent of the vote. Several Democrats walked out in protest, putting the country’s bitter divide on full display.
Trump’s craving for adulation didn’t fade after the applause ended. He openly mocked Congressional Democrats for refusing to stand or applaud during his speech. This reporter—having covered 50 presidential addresses to Congress—has seen both parties refuse to stand for each other’s leaders, but Trump’s obsession with applause is pathological.
His niece, Dr Mary Trump—long a thorn in his side—summed up the night with characteristic bluntness: “It is hard to put into words how I feel about tonight’s grotesque event. It was at once a travesty, a farce, and a dystopian exercise in mendacity, disinformation, and fascism. It was, if you will, a stunning and brazen display of American carnage.”
In the Democratic rebuttal, Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan delivered a scorching, 10-minute response that cut through the noise. She torched Trump’s core economic narrative, describing it as a calculated betrayal of the country—an illegal assault on the US government, an open invitation to autocracy, and a dangerous undermining of America’s national security, alliances, and democracy itself. She invoked President Ronald Reagan, contrasting his strategic leadership with Trump’s impulsive, self-serving chaos.
Slotkin’s remarks echoed what’s fast becoming the most significant Republican criticism of Trump: his embrace of Putin and his abandonment of Zelenskyy and Europe. For many Republicans, defeating Russia is in their political DNA. Democratic strategists believe the key to splitting the GOP from Trump lies in driving home the economic collapse Trump is steering America towards, particularly his cozying up to Putin. If the economy craters, America’s own oligarchs—Trump’s true inner circle—will feast on the country’s resources, mirroring Russia’s post-communist collapse and Putin’s rise from chaos to dictatorship.
In a moment of bizarre geopolitical fantasy, Trump again declared his intent to “get” Greenland—a Danish territory—signalling that his second term will see him run roughshod over allies with the same bullying bravado he reserves for domestic opponents. Trump and his enforcer, JD Vance, operate more like mafia dons than public servants. The chorus of Republican leaders defending their every move is both sinister and shocking to the global community.
The old “Ugly American” stereotype—loud, crass, and oblivious—was embarrassing but harmless. Today’s version is darker, more dangerous. American travellers once reassured themselves that those ugly exceptions didn’t define the country. That reassurance no longer holds.
Throughout his speech, Trump spent more time attacking Joe Biden’s policies than presenting any real vision of his own. His focus, as always, was self-congratulation. Perhaps the most absurd claim of the night was his assertion that his first month back in office was “the most successful in the history of our nation”—as if George Washington were some runner-up in the Trump Olympics.
In Trump’s alternate reality, he is both the greatest leader of all time and the ultimate victim of dark forces bent on his destruction. It’s a dangerous delusion—and one America, and the world, can no longer afford to indulge.
—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels