When I worked on Capitol Hill years ago, and because I was the most gregarious person on our staff, I would give constituents visiting D.C. a tour of the U.S. Capitol. When I’d take them to the House chamber, I’d show them where the First Lady sits for State of the Union addresses, talk about the hopper, next to the clerk’s desk on the House floor where bills are placed to be introduced, and I’d talk about the historical significance of the speaker’s rostrum.
Tonight, Donald Trump will stand before a joint session of Congress, delivering his first address in five years. First, it’s not an official State of the Union, it’s just a speech, and probably a vulgar one. I’m already sick to my stomach thinking about it.
The setting, of course, is the House chamber, where the president traditionally speaks from the central rostrum, flanked above by the seats of the speaker of the House and the vice president. This arrangement is steeped in symbolism. The president addresses the legislative branch from a position that visually reinforces the balance of power, with the people's representatives literally overseeing the executive.
When I’d explain this to people, I remember them being so awed by this little-known fact.
This architectural design serves as a potent reminder that, in our republic, the president is accountable to the people through their elected legislators. The elevated seats of the speaker and the vice president symbolize the supremacy of the legislative branch in representing the will of the people.
As noted by the U.S. House of Representatives historical records, the speaker's rostrum is framed by walls of multicolored marble, columns, and symbolic relief sculptures, emphasizing its importance.
However, since his inauguration on January 20, 2025, Trump has undertaken a series of glaring actions that challenge this foundational principle, people over the president. His administration has aggressively implemented policies through executive orders, bypassing the legislative process.
Notably, and at the risk of making myself even sicker, Trump has issued a freeze on federal hiring, except for the military, immigration enforcement, national security, and public safety jobs, reinstated his first-term Schedule F executive order to make it easier to fire federal employees, and ordered federal workers back to the office full-time, halting remote work arrangements.
These moves resemble an autocracy, not a government where a president speaks from a middle desk.
To make matters worse, these moves have been met with conspicuous silence from many members of Congress, particularly within the Republican party. Rather than acting as a check on executive overreach, they are just acquiescing, enabling the erosion of institutional safeguards.
Now, wait till you see how these bootlicker Republicans squeal and holler tomorrow night when Trump is introduced by the House Sergeant at Arms, i..e. “Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States.”
They will wail, and stand and whoop at just about every lie and disgusting thing Trump says and does while he’s speaking. It might give viewers the perception that all is as it should be, but that would be a mistake to make that assumption, and it would be a mistake for Republicans to get too cocky.
Across the nation, citizens are awakening to Trump’s encroachment on their democratic rights. Republican town halls have seen a surge in attendance, with constituents voicing their displeasure over the administration's actions. This grassroots activism signals a growing recognition of the need to reclaim the power vested in the people. Something Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass about.
The symbolism of the president speaking from the central rostrum, beneath the POV of the people's representatives, is more critical now than ever. It is a visual testament to the principle that the executive is subject to the will of the people, as expressed through their elected officials. This might seem like hyperbole, as former President Biden might say, but the threat is real, and the only way to stop it is by the people making their voices heard, as loud and as frequently as they possibly can.
As Trump addresses the nation tonight, let it serve as a call to arms, so to speak, of all us making sure that an autocracy doesn’t swallow us because we weren’t paying attention. Yes, most people probably don’t know why the president speaks from the middle rostrum, but ignorance, as they say, is nine-tenths of the law. So being ignorant to the elements that constitute a democracy, and how to save one, won’t keep Trump from doing what he wants.
He wants us to be ignorant — of everything.
The preservation of our democracy hinges on active participation and vigilance. Otherwise, next year, Trump might be introduced by the House Sergeant at Arms as, “Mr. Speaker, His Excellency, King Donald,” as Trump walks down the middle aisle of the chamber, and ascends to the top of the rostrum, while Vance and Johnson applaud upward at a diminished democracy.
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