David Frum

President Trump has formally opened an investigation into one Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, and is making a lot of noises about investigating and indicting the other, the chairman, the outgoing chairman, Jay Powell.

And who hasn't he insulted in that room?

If you were a potential guest at the Trump State of the Union 2026, you'd want to think twice.

I'm going to have to sit in my seat.

I'm going to have to behave in a respectful way.

And the president might say or do anything.

One of the destructive features of the Trump presidency has been the way his inability to control himself, his inability to respect the rules of the game, has actually changed the game.

It isn't just Donald Trump who behaves worse.

People in response to Donald Trump are put into a position where they either match his behavior or they look like suckers and fools or they look like victims who are bullied by him and intimidated by him.

And so you've begun to hear talk of a number of members of the House and Senate saying they do not want to attend the State of the Union, and maybe they will not.

Some people have suggested there might be a lot of visible empty seats or seats where Donald Trump and his people will have to hastily scurry to put extra bodies where the senators and members of the House should go.

It's a hard thing to think about because even those of us who most want to retain the great traditions of the American Republic, the symbolic demonstrations of unity, have to say, if somebody asked me, if a member of the House and Senate asked me, should they attend, I'd have a hard time telling them that it's a good idea.

I think we are being pushed toward an evaluation of whether this tradition may have outlived its usefulness, at least so long as Donald Trump is present.

Remember, while the president is obliged and required to make a report to Congress, there's no requirement that he do so in person.

From Thomas Jefferson's time to Woodrow Wilson, the State of the Union was submitted in writing.

Thomas Jefferson broke with the precedent of his predecessors, Washington and Adams, he thought.

that the State of the Union Address reminded him too much of a British speech from the throne, plus he hated public speaking.

So he submitted his reports in writing,

And so it continued until Woodrow Wilson returned to the spoken form.

In 1973, Richard Nixon went back to the speech in writing.