Doing what I do for living, I must admit I was excited to watch Donald Trump’s presidential address Tuesday night.
What a letdown.
For political junkies, this was supposed to be must-see, Superbowl-type television! Set up the TV trays, cook up some wings, add a cold pail of Coronas as a gesture of empathy for Mexico, and gather to watch Trump’s first address to the nation.
Forget the bluster of his rallies, forget the big arenas, forget the adoring fans, forget the theatrics and playing to the media — this was a chance to see Trump one on one, unplugged.
So how did he do?
It depends if he scared the hell out of you or not with his tall tales of the crisis he is desperately trying to create to get U.S. taxpayers’ money to build a wall he promised Mexico would pay for.
He did stop short of calling it a national emergency, which makes one question why he used a televised Oval Office address to discuss something that may be a concern, but hardly a crisis.
WATCH: Trump repeats call for border wall with televised address
Both sides have agreed border security is a problem. What they disagree on, of course, is how to solve it.
Trump wants a wall, while Democrats want more cost-effective technology and border security.
Americans have to ask themselves if a wall is the number one issue in their lives and worth shutting down the government, not to mention the billions it will cost.
Whatever your political view is on the issue, one thing is certain after watching Trump’s address and the subsequent Democrat rebuttal.
Donald Trump campaigned on draining the swamp, but despite controlling the House and the Senate for the first half of his tenure, it seems deeper and stinkier than it has ever been.
That must be disappointing to his supporters, who hoped the disruption and divisiveness would lead to real change.
Scott Thompson is the host of The Scott Thompson Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.