The State of the Union. Dems Mull: Silent Resistance or Outright Protest. War in Paradise. Gavin Newsom’s SAT. Mamdani’s Personality Transplant. Epstein Mania and Trial by Jury. More

President Trump tonight delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term. The President is expected to use the SOTU to assess that the United States is ‘strong, prosperous and respected’ as it enters its 250th year:

President Trump will use his State of the Union address to sell the public on the economy and unveil new measures meant to lower costs, as Republicans try to address voters’ concerns ahead of the midterm elections later this year.

The official theme of the speech, according to White House officials familiar with the draft: “America at 250: Strong, Prosperous and Respected,” a reference to the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. The address will emphasize the idea of American exceptionalism, and the president is planning to weave in stories of Americans who say they have benefited from his policies, the officials said.

Fox Digital also looks to tonight.

Coming shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Trump tariffs, the stakes for the President could be even higher than usual.

The question for the out of power party tonight is: “‘Silent defiance’ or outright opposition? Democrats split over how to confront Trump” MS Now informs us. They tried the first and made fools of themselves last year (it was a presidential speech but not a SOTU) and thus Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is leaning towards the silent treatment this year.

Bummer. But some will boycott the SOTU and there will be an array of options outside the House chamber (where the speech is delivered):

One of those events, dubbed the “People’s State of the Union,” will take place on the National Mall beginning shortly before Trump’s speech is scheduled to begin. Sponsored by liberal activist groups, including MoveOn Civic Action, it’s set to feature a number of prominent Democrats from both chambers, including Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Ed Markey (Mass.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.), and Reps. Veronica Escobar (Texas), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Greg Casar (Texas), who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Another countermessaging event, “The State of the Swamp,” will be staged at the National Press Club near the White House. That gathering is also expected to attract some high-profile Democrats, including Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) and Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.), Eric Swalwell (Calif.) and Dan Goldman (N.Y.). At least two other Democrats, Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.) and Eugene Vindman (Va.), have said they will participate in the event but also attend Trump’s speech later in the evening.

And if Eugene Vindman and Dim Dan are not enough star-power, Joy Reid was touted last week as a “sober, centrist” voice at the People’s SOTU. Half dozen or so Democrats have invited Jeffrey Epstein victims to be their guests, presumably because hope springs eternal that next 3 million documents dump will bring down the President. Meanwhile, Team USA hockey star Jack Hughes says the guys are super excited to meet President Trump tonight.

Ruy Texeira of The Free Press writes that the State of the Union has been “overstated:” he argues that the speeches used to make history but are now mired in tribal warfare. Nothing Trump could say will change that. Former George W. Bush speech writer Bill McGurn makes the case for the SOTU. A White House invitation for also triumphant women’s hockey team either was not sent or was declined.

“War in Paradise” blares the New York Post cover headline. “Mexico just decapitated its most dangerous cartel. That means war,” award-winning Mexican journalist Leon Krauze writes in the Washington Post. He urges President Claudia Sheinbaum to stay the course. A piece at Unherd argues that El Mencho death shows President Trump’s growing influence in Mexico. Bloomberg says Sheinbaum has crossed her Rubicon.

More Snow. A record snowfall blankets the Northeast. In response, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has softened his policy forbidding homeless sweeps that was responsible for 19 deaths. And there is much rejoicing because this will save lives of the poor and downtrodden? Nope, “compassionate” left wing activists are furious. 

“Tax the Rich—Or Mamdani Will Tax You All” is the headline on Nicole Gelinas’ latest City Journal piece. Galinas observes:

[T]he guy who couldn’t stop smiling last year insists the city is in crisis now. Why? He needs a crisis to push through his proposed $9 billion in annual new taxes on high earners and corporations. He wants to raise taxes for the sake of raising taxes—and the governor, who must sign off on any such increases, won’t cooperate. Last year, Mamdani wanted these tax hikes partly to pay for his universal childcare plan. Instead, the governor swiftly agreed earlier this year to fund the plan’s gradual rollout with existing state revenues.

Meanwhile, a City Counsel member warns Mamdani that his plan not to add 5,000 police will make the city less safe. Meanwhile, a mob tormented police officers during the snow emergency:

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been blasted for fueling anti-cop hate after an unruly mob launched a “disgusting” snowball attack on NYPD officers during Monday’s blizzard.

Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton calls upon Mamdani not to eliminate NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, which keeps protesters safe and does much more.

Police aren’t the only New Yorkers feeling undervalued by the Mayor. “’Jim Snow 2.0′: Critics blast Mamdani’s $19 snow jobs after $30 wage pledge” explains that Mamdani wants you to pay a high minimum wage from which he exempts himself. Give the kid a break—this is the first time he’s ever had to make payroll.

Dumb Like You. Ms. Must thought Andrew Stiles’ Free Beacon piece on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s racial pandering might be satire. Nobody could be that dumb. But no. Somebodu is that dumb. CBS has a story on the pandering and Newsom’s (dumb) attempt to blame the fallout on “MAGA bigotry:”

Newsom spoke Sunday with [Atlanta Mayor Andre] Dickens in front of a packed auditorium, reflecting on his academic challenges. “I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you I’m like you, I’m not better than you,” Newsom said. “I’m a 960 SAT guy and you know, I’m not trying to offend anyone — you know — trying to act all there if you got 940 — but literally, a 960 SAT guy. You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be.” 

Another prominent Golden State politician has yet to make public her SAT scores but I for one would be interested.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is a fool and a knave. But Wall Street Journal columnist Gerard Baker writes that “Even Contemptible Men Don’t Deserve Mob Justice.” The “militant wing of Epstein mania” is beginning to worry me.

Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Russell Mead writes that the tariff battles are far from over.  Limits will only inspire President Trump to for alternatives to search to increase his leverage at home and abroad. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal complains that (in the opinion of the Editorial Board) the President’s new basis for tariffs is “a relic of a bygone era.”  FedEx is suing the administration for return of tariff revenues taken so far. President Trump “smacked” the tariffs in the lead-up to tonight’s speech. National Review’s Jeffrey Blehar deduces:

Yes, tonight’s State of the Union address is probably going to be a dumpster fire, or, for that matter, a zeppelin fire. Donald Trump has already warned: “It’s going to be a long speech. Because we have a lot to talk about.” (Imagine the futility of speechwriting for Trump, knowing that a full 65 percent of your material will never be spoken, given his improvisational tendencies.)

Don’t Miss. There was a wonderful tribute to the kind of masculinity personified in the US hockey team in the Examiner. It’s headlined “The US hockey team knelt — and that is what matters.”   I don’t know as much as I should about sports, but I was blown away by this piece.