It isn’t always easy to keep up with what’s happening in the US. “Shorter America” is a series where Dr Emma Shortis loops you in on what’s going on in America and shares news and analysis that you can trust.
Sat 28 Feb 2026 01.00
President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 24, 2026, on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
The President of the United States loves to hold an audience captive. He held Congress, and some of the rest of us, captive for almost two hours this week as he gave the “State of the Union” speech. In news that will surprise absolutely no one, he told some gross racist lies.
This week:
Donald Trump is exactly who you think he is. There is no subtext, no subtlety. He is not playing 4D chess. In the lead up to his State of the Union speech, there was much speculation about how long it would be – the President had said it would be very long. How long? Well, last time around he broke the record for the longest speech. This time, he went just long enough to break it again. Tired of winning, you see.
I gave some more detailed analysis on the ABC News Daily podcast on Thursday. I also thought (as usual) that Jamelle Bouie had a good take, which he titled, appropriately, “I Cannot Believe I Watched Trump’s Entire Speech”.
Unsurprisingly, Trump didn’t say much of substance in those two hours, and a great deal of it obviously wasn’t true. The brazenly white supremacist stuff he said about the Somali community was egregious. Over at Guardian US, Jason Wilson (who is great on white supremacist organising and conspiracy) has an explainer on where this one has come from.
Trump also briefly mentioned artificial intelligence. That was a nod to AI becoming a pretty serious political issue – particularly huge data centers being built across the country. In case you missed it, this longer essay on AI by Tressie McMillan Cottom is excellent.
I was also struck (/horrified) by this piece in New Scientist titled “AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations.” That’s particularly concerning given Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s insistence on integrating AI (including Elon Musk’s Grok) into military systems.
Local millennials of my age bracket already know how that ends – Isobelle Carmody warned us. At least those of us who survive might become telepathic, I guess?
Those of us who are deeply worried about American democracy and how what is happening in the US impacts Australia are often accused – sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly – of wanting to ‘abandon’ America.
That’s just a false flag that allows security types to dismiss legitimate concerns (especially about AUKUS).
But I was reminded of why that matters in a very particular way this week. I went to see Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, my favourite American artists. The first time I saw them was in Kansas City, Missouri (not a place I’d necessarily recommend), over a decade ago. They’ve been to Australia a few times since, and almost always – to their great surprise – draw huge crowds.
Their characteristically extraordinary performance in Melbourne, and the beautiful sense of shared reverence in the audience, reminded me: so many of us love so much about America. We don’t want to ‘abandon’ it. We just wish it would lean more towards the better angels of its nature.
And we know the United States is a place just like any other, with people just like any other – capable at once of profound cruelty and transcendent beauty.
Despite everything, that beauty still exists. Sharing it in all its fragility should be the fundamental basis of our relationship. Not what we have now.
Said it’s a mean old world, heavy in need
And that big machine is just picking up speed
And we’re supping on tears, and we’re supping on wine
We all get to heaven in our own sweet time
So come all you Asheville boys and turn up your old-time noise
And kick ’til the dust comes up from the cracks in the floor
Singing, “Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mind, brother
Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mind
Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mind no more”
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Prime Minister Curtin’s Christmas 1941 newspaper column advised the Australian people that henceforth we would look to America as our protector rather than Britain. To have questioned our trust in the USA at that time would have been unthinkable. A decade later, under Prime Minister Menzies, trust was cemented into the ANZUS treaty, which has remained the cornerstone of Australia’ security and self-confidence ever since. It has become an article of faith.
Donald Trump’s escalating military build-up in the Middle East has raised fears that the United States is on the brink of a new war with Iran.
For some strange reason, foursomes are back in vogue. Maybe it’s the persistence of Bridge Clubs, or the strange return of American Foursomes in the golfing world. How else can one explain the hold that quadrilaterals have over the imaginations of defence planners in the US and Australia?
The stunning arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor by UK police on suspicion of misconduct in public office must have chilled many powerful American men to the bone. They may now wonder: could something like this now happen in the US?
