Trump can't even stick to his own 'unity' message on day of SOTU

White House aides say the State of the Union will focus on “unity,” but Trump can’t even stay on message hours before he’s set to address the nation.

Instead, Trump took to Twitter Tuesday morning to lash out at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and whined about media coverage of the 2018 midterm election.

“I see Schumer is already criticizing my State of the Union speech, even though he hasn’t seen it yet. He’s just upset that he didn’t win the Senate, after spending a fortune, like he thought he would,” Trump tweeted. “Too bad we weren’t given more credit for the Senate win by the media!”

Headlines from Fox News, USA Today, TIME, CNBC, and a slew of other outlets have all declared that Trump will focus on the theme of “unity” when he addresses the nation on Tuesday night. “We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future,” Trump plans to say, according to an excerpt received by USA Today.

But if his Tuesday morning outburst is any indication, Trump is still committed to a pattern of crass partisanship and petty insults that have defined his tenure in the White House.

In a CBS interview prior to the Super Bowl, Trump attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her “very bad for the country” and accusing her of supporting human trafficking. The comments — which related to Pelosi’s position of opposing a border wall — aired about 48 hours before Trump’s big speech on “unity.”

Trump spent his first two years in office slurring Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), using foul language to attack Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and using Twitter to attack Democrats hundreds of times.

During the 35-day Trump shutdown, Trump slammed his hands on the desk and stormed out of a meeting with Schumer and Pelosi rather than have a serious discussion about reopening the government.

Trump can’t even keep his own administration unified. During a Senate hearing last week, Trump’s own intelligence chiefs contradicted Trump on issues ranging from North Korea, to Iran, to ISIS. Trump’s show of “unity” was to lambast them on Twitter and say they should “go back to school.”

A few words about unity placed in a high-profile speech can’t change Trump. He can’t even pretend to be something besides a vicious partisan hack on the very day he’s been asked to speak on unity.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.