Up at the podium, even knowing the whole world could be watching him, President Donald Trump may well have been bored with himself as he churned through the first half of his State of the Union address.

Oh, he had been dishing his usual load of made-up facts and numbers. And he made his usual claim: “Now we are the hottest country anywhere in the world – the hottest!” Plus, basking in the Olympic gold medal hockey team’s glory was huge.

But the ordinariness of his attempt at best behavior normally would have been a downer – except for one thing. Trump had a secret ace-in-the-hole. And he couldn’t wait to spring it. After all, he’s been having a horrible year. His polls have plummeted. People now say they disapprove of his handling of virtually every issue – they just aren’t believing his exaggerations, distortions and lies the way they used to.

So Trump was thrilled when the teleprompter rolled and he got to play his ace:

“One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe. So tonight, 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.’”

Every Republican stood and cheered. Every Democrat remained seated; some scowling, some struggling to stay expressionless. Trump was over the top. But, ever the showman, he struggled to make his smile look like a tight grin of disgust. Democrats were giving him the political gift he’d hoped for. Trump swept his right hand at the half of the House chamber where the Democrats sat silently; he shook his head and milked the Republican applause for 112 long seconds. The TV cameras focused on one Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who repeatedly shouted: “You have killed Americans!”

Finally the applause stopped and Trump said: “Isn’t that a shame? You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Trump must have felt like guffawing in glee. While Trump has lost support in virtually all demographic categories, his biggest problem is that so much of his support among the independent swing voters has all swung away from him. Independents were the target of Trump’s ace-in-the-hole. His other target was the Democrats’ decision to sit silently and not stand to show support for Trump’s statement that was carefully crafted to seem all about showing patriotism and not partisan politics.

Time out. Democrats need to make this one of those rewind and rethink political strategy chalkboard moments. For they did have other options. And indeed, they were about to be showcasing a perfect rejoinder that spotlights a powerfully phrased rebuke of all that Trump’s ICE and Border Patrol troops have done so very wrong – while also spotlighting the patriotic support for defending and closing America’s borders and keeping our streets and fellow Americans safe, forever.

Right after Trump spoke, the Democratic Party would declare its official response in perhaps the most spot-on opposition speech. It was delivered in powerful yet plainspoken words by Virginia’s newly elected Gov. Abigail Spanberger – the daughter of a career law enforcement officer, who herself worked first in law enforcement and then as a CIA undercover agent.

“Our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans — and they have done it without a warrant,” Spanberger said. “They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies, they have sent children — a little boy in a blue bunny hat — to far-off detention centers, and they have killed American citizens on our streets...

“Every minute spent sowing fear is a minute not spent investigating murders, crimes against children, or the criminals defrauding seniors of their life savings. Our president told us tonight that we are safer because these agents arrest mothers and detain children. Think about that. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed — not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities.”

Democrats had other options on their State of the Union night. Indeed, Democrats will have other options every day and night from now on. If Democratic strategists had anticipated Trump’s ploy, they might have chosen to respond quite differently.

Picture this: Trump plays his entrapment ace and you see a united Congress – Republicans and Democrats — standing and cheering the concept that the government’s first obligation is protecting the security and constitutional rights of all American citizens. Spanberger, who is quite savvy, could reword one sentence to powerfully commit our government to protect our Constitution’s guarantees that are afforded to all who seek to legally immigrate to America. Just as our ancestors did.

Democrats need to rethink their options and the messages they really want to send to America’s independent swing voters. After all, they are the voters who will decide whether Trump’s Republican acolytes or a Democratic alternative should be in charge of keeping America strong while keeping Americans safe and our Constitutional rights safeguarded.

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