Reality distortion has become the norm
The David Pakman Show - February 24, 2026
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Donald Trump’s upcoming State of the Union will try to project strength, prosperity, and unity. That is the branding. But many Americans are dealing with high costs and a divided country. We heard big promises before, especially on health care, and they did not materialize. Expect attacks on judges and the media, and rhetoric that treats oversight as sabotage.
On Iran, the White House said Operation Midnight Hammer completely obliterated nuclear facilities. But months later, we hear Iran may already be rebuilding. Those claims do not sit comfortably together. When asked about concrete threats, press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to anti-American chants instead of intelligence assessments.
Leavitt also previewed that Trump will blame Joe Biden and Barack Obama for the affordability crisis. However, Biden left office with inflation around 3 percent and Trump has been back more than a year. Every president inherits conditions, but you cannot take credit for good numbers and blame your predecessor for bad ones fourteen months in.
A recent Trump clip jumped from New York politics to snow shoveling to cataract surgery to polls with no clear thread. Trump also dismissed polls showing he has a sinking approval rating, saying they are fake. Dismissing inconvenient data is a classic strongman move. Add the constant grievances about 2020 and personal sacrifice, and it becomes a loop.
At a White House event, Trump appeared unsure where to go and looked unsteady. This adds to years of verbal confusion and factual mix ups. The same people who demanded scrutiny of Joe Biden’s cognition now resist similar questions.
JD Vance claimed a Trump manufacturing boom but named no specific projects. Major factories take years to plan and build and many current developments stem from legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act. Manufacturing jobs have not surged and promises of a rapid revival sound more like messaging than evidence.
Trump’s Truth Social posts on tariffs frame trade disputes as personal attacks. Tariffs are taxes often passed to American consumers. He also claims he does not need Congress, even though the Constitution gives Congress authority over foreign commerce.
Trump also claimed Gavin Newsom dropped out of a presidential race that Newsom has not formally entered. Major outlets quickly corrected it. Whether trolling or confusion, asserting imaginary political events as fact erodes trust.
Finally, Jesse Watters said he does not want a president who struggles to read. However, we have seen Trump struggle with prepared remarks, and heard stories like Pete Davidson’s SNL anecdote. If Watters’ concern is about reading fluency and coherence, it should matter for everyone.
On today’s bonus show:
A gunman is shot dead at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Mexico kills a cartel leader resulting in mass violence, Kash Patel is scrutinized for celebrating with the US hockey team, and much more...
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I'm not going to watch blowhard's bag of bullshit, myself, but if you are, go download the Lincoln Media sotu bingo card. It has a bunch of the lies we know he'll say and is both sad and amusing at the same time.
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