Molineaux is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and president/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
Politics can be boring again.
I listened with anticipation to President Biden’s hour-long State of the Union speech to see how he would express a message that defines the moment in history that we are living through. More specifically, how he would deliver the line that all State of the Union addresses must apparently say.
“The state of the union is strong, because you, the American people, are strong.”
As this was his first State of the Union as president, expectations were high. And Biden delivered his vision and agenda for the future of the United States. There was seemingly something for everyone. And we all seemed to be asking, “Is this the moment when Biden gets back on track? Will this be how his approval ratings turn around?”
Personally, I find the approval polls as helpful as I find canned spinach. A little slimy and served with a touch of vinegar. They are a meaningless scorecard, surveying people who are actually grading their own lives and expectations of the near-future. After many years of fear-mongering, propaganda and outright lies, it’s no wonder we disapprove of everything. For most Americans, cynicism is our constant companion.
This was the context in which I listened to the speech while finishing some household chores. I noted the opening visuals of two women sitting behind the president while he spoke and smiled to myself. Yes, we need more women in elected office and in the halls of power.
Perhaps because of the global tensions surrounding the Ukraine invasion and resulting humanitarian crisis, I wanted our president to grasp the moment. But I failed to be moved to hope or belief that his vision was possible. At the same time, I found the speech to be a “normal” State of the Union address. As intended, Biden included many agenda items that he campaigned on and that progressives call for: new jobs, higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, more union participation and a better life for working class Americans. In my mind, I could hear my conservative friends and family asking how we would pay for it all. I also heard clear outreach to conservatives, highlighting issues that are near and dear to conservative hearts like a strong support of capitalism, no new taxes for working Americans and increased funding to police.
There were, however, some lines in the speech that were inspiring and offered hope, especially those moments in which all members of Congress stood and applauded in unison. The division and toxicity in Congress is worse than ever so those seconds, as fleeting as they may have been, of bipartisanship and unity were a relief.
I was struck by the personal tone as Biden spoke about the cause of his son’s death (brain cancer) during a section on the VA pioneering a new way of linking toxic exposures to diseases veterans are experiencing. Acknowledging the need for our country to take responsibility for our veterans is long overdue. For him, veterans' care is deeply personal. The call to support veterans will be meaningful if we actually support veterans and not just use them as a prop.
Biden’s encouraging words about strengthening democracy around the world, as well as domestically, was balm to my soul. Given the focus of The Fulcrum and the members of Bridge Alliance (affiliated with The Fulcrum), it was nice to hear our work in the State of the Union. He called on our better angels to enact voting rights and other reforms to bolster the integrity of our elections. If we don’t get this right, nothing will improve.
Like most Americans, I long to ditch the mask without risking others’ lives. I look forward to our near future of “normalcy” without giving up on what must be done. My heart resonates with his words, “It’s gonna be OK.”
It was a relief not to hear partisan, propaganda-style claims, name calling or blame being cast on others. Instead of inflaming my fears, Biden left me soothed yet a little skeptical.
Perhaps in these tense times “soothing” is enough.
Today’s news will be full of analysis of Biden’s speech. I’ve avoided doing so hoping that a moment of reflection for myself and for our readers as to the times we are living in would better serve us all.
Biden’s first State of the Union speech felt predictable. And boring. And I loved it. Biden provided a soothing hope for the future and a vision for our shared opportunities. After all, political identity is not who we are, it is how we make decisions in a democracy. Politics should not have the lead role in our lives. Our friends and family should. Today, maybe we can start being one nation again.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.