Tea at Trianon: President Trump Brilliant in Fourth State of the Union Address

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, February 26, 2026

President Trump Brilliant in Fourth State of the Union Address

From AMAC:

President Donald Trump delivered his fourth State of the Union Address and the first of his second term Tuesday night before a packed House chamber, minus several dozen Democrats who chose to boycott the speech. In just under two hours, the longest State of the Union in modern history, Trump laid out a sweeping case that America is not simply recovering from the chaos of the Biden years, but entering what he repeatedly described as a “Golden Age.”

From his opening line, the tone was unmistakable. “Our Nation is back – bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before,” Trump declared, setting the stage for a speech that was equal parts report card, policy blueprint, and patriotic revival.

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence just months away, Trump framed the moment in historic terms. “This July 4th, we will mark two and a half centuries of liberty and triumph, progress and freedom in the most incredible and exceptional nation ever to exist on the face of this earth,” he said. “And you’ve seen nothing yet, because we are entering the Golden Age of America.”

That sense of momentum carried through the first half of the address as Trump ran through what could fairly be called his second-term “greatest hits.”

One year ago, he reminded the country, he inherited “a nation in crisis—with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home, and wars and chaos all over the world.” Today, he argued, the turnaround is undeniable.

“Today, our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast, the economy is roaring, our enemies are scared, our military and police are stacked, and America is respected again,” Trump said. (Read more.)