While the White House paints a picture of a "Golden Age," the reality on the ground in Oregon and across the nation tells a far more turbulent story. In this episode of E Pluribus Unum, host Jacqueline Keeler breaks down the 2026 State of the Union address, stripping away the rhetoric to look at the cold math and the human cost of current federal policies.
In This Episode:
• The Approval Crisis: We dive into the latest data from CNN’s Harry Enten, showing President Trump’s approval rating cratering to 36%—the lowest of any president this century—with a staggering -47 point net approval among independent voters.
• The "Billionaires Win" Agenda: Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley joins the conversation to sound the alarm on "Trumpflation." We discuss the $1,700 "tariff tax" hitting every Oregon household and the $45 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare triggered by new tax laws for the ultra-wealthy.
• Confrontation on the House Floor: We review the moment of "moral clarity" from Rep. Ilhan Omar, who challenged the President’s rhetoric on the Somali-American community by naming neighbors killed by federal agents. We also discuss the harrowing arrest of Aliya Rahman, a disabled U.S. citizen removed from the gallery for the simple act of standing in silent protest.
• The Alternative View: Analysis of rebuttals from Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Rep. Summer Lee, plus a look at Senator Bernie Sanders’ "Alternative State of the Union" regarding the rise of American oligarchy.
• The Path Forward: Historian Heather Cox Richardson discusses the "Minneapolis Model" of community resistance and how, in the face of a "white Christian nationalist regime," the American people are rediscovering their agency.
- KBOO