# How incredibly stupid will the SOTU be? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2019, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994 "2019-02-05T07:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/181 "2019-02-07T04:23:35Z")
Seriously, if I had that job, I would spend a few hours reading and rehearsing the speech. If Shitgibbonbot is such an automaton that he has to read his speech for the first time while he is delivering it, what the fuck do we keep him around for? What use is he? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/182 "2019-02-07T05:52:51Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Turns out that the Doofus in Chief [needed to have “keemo” spelled out phonetically for him](https://twitter.com/AmandiOnAir/status/1092986313983315968). I have as much distaste for Trump as anyone but that’s really not fair. Many people would want or need phonetic pronunciations in a teleprompter. It makes a lot of sense if there are some words that you continually trip over. This can happen to anyone, no matter how intelligent or experienced at speaking. I know TV news anchors that have almost every foreign name spelled phonetically in their prompter. They seem to have a much better vocabulary than Trump but getting words twisted up on live TV is not a place they want to go so they cover their butts. Looks like that’s what the president was doing. A lot of people do. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/183 "2019-02-07T06:04:52Z")
But let me be quick to add… may he rot in hell. Really though, people. Don’t pick on the guy for doing shit that good, smart, normal people also do. He does so much else that can be easily criticized for its outré heinousness. Chirping about this stuff is small-time. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/184 "2019-02-07T07:59:05Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Melania must be so embarassed every morning she wakes up She doesn’t care. Do you? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/185 "2019-02-07T08:07:00Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > … What’s the over/under on how many times Thrump will turn around and smirk at Nancy Pelosi? I’m glad I didn’t get a bet down on this! Apparently Thrump is too intimidated by the Speaker to attempt a smirk. _Nancy has the Thrump so well under her thumb that she stole the show._ I still wonder if the path to reconciliation is for Nancy to offer to pee on Potus, or to spank naked Thrumpie with the _Congressional Record_. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/186 "2019-02-07T08:23:28Z")
Patton Oswalt’s Twitter feed had a great pic of The Clap, with the caption, “Congrats to @speakerpelosi for inventing the ‘fuck you’ clap” ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/187 "2019-02-07T09:34:10Z")
heh I remember bush juniors last stotu address he promised big bold things and then ignored or walked 99 percent of it back mere days later I doubt much has changed in the presidential mo since then …. ---
**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/188 "2019-02-07T09:55:23Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I have as much distaste for Trump as anyone but that’s really not fair. Many people would want or need phonetic pronunciations in a teleprompter. It makes a lot of sense if there are some words that you continually trip over. This can happen to anyone, no matter how intelligent or experienced at speaking. I know TV news anchors that have almost every foreign name spelled phonetically in their prompter. They seem to have a much better vocabulary than Trump but getting words twisted up on live TV is not a place they want to go so they cover their butts. > > Looks like that’s what the president was doing. A lot of people do. But a newsreader is most likely reading the teleprompter cold without having had days or weeks to rehearse from a prepared text. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/189 "2019-02-07T11:19:45Z")
> [@yendis](#): > > But a newsreader is most likely reading the teleprompter cold without having had days or weeks to rehearse from a prepared text. Rehearse? That would cut into his executive time! He already loses 40% of his day to other stuff as it is!! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/190 "2019-02-07T14:40:32Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I have as much distaste for Trump as anyone but that’s really not fair. Many people would want or need phonetic pronunciations in a teleprompter. It makes a lot of sense if there are some words that you continually trip over. This can happen to anyone, no matter how intelligent or experienced at speaking. I know TV news anchors that have almost every foreign name spelled phonetically in their prompter. They seem to have a much better vocabulary than Trump but getting words twisted up on live TV is not a place they want to go so they cover their butts. > > Looks like that’s what the president was doing. A lot of people do. Please. If a normal person ran across ‘Keemo’ in a teleprompter, or a written document, it would likely trip them up. “WTF is Keemo???”. Trump is not a normal person. He’s a dumb ass that admits he doesn’t read. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/191 "2019-02-07T15:06:15Z")
I would think first two syllables of “kemo sabe”. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/192 "2019-02-07T15:20:08Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Please. If a normal person ran across ‘Keemo’ in a teleprompter, or a written document, it would likely trip them up. “WTF is Keemo???”. Trump is not a normal person. He’s a dumb ass that admits he doesn’t read. Exactly. Do you think Obama or Hillary EVER needed anything spelled out phonetically on the teleprompter? Not to mention they probably looked over the speech in detail ahead of time and got clear on proper names and such, like [“Nepal” and Bhutan" (“nipple” and “button” to him),](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-called-bhutan-nepal-button-nipple-john-walcott_us_5c58c7b0e4b00187b5544631) which BTW, he thought were in India. Stop making excuses for him. Why would you anyway? The guy is a loser at every level in every way. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/193 "2019-02-07T16:21:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Exactly. > > Do you think Obama or Hillary EVER needed anything spelled out phonetically on the teleprompter? Not to mention they probably looked over the speech in detail ahead of time and got clear on proper names and such, like [“Nepal” and Bhutan" (“nipple” and “button” to him),](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-called-bhutan-nepal-button-nipple-john-walcott_us_5c58c7b0e4b00187b5544631) which BTW, he thought were in India. > > Stop making excuses for him. Why would you anyway? The guy is a loser at every level in every way. Exactly. That said, if Individual 1 ever needed to refer to the nation of Niger in a speech, I would definitely recommend that his handlers use a phonetic spelling in his teleprompter text. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/194 "2019-02-07T16:25:05Z")
In speeches, Dubya said only “Africa” when describing the source of the yellowcake uranium he claimed Iraq got hold of. That \*had \*to be because his handlers feared a mispronunciation of “Niger”. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/195 "2019-02-07T16:59:36Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I have as much distaste for Trump as anyone but that’s really not fair. Many people would want or need phonetic pronunciations in a teleprompter. It makes a lot of sense if there are some words that you continually trip over. This can happen to anyone, no matter how intelligent or experienced at speaking. I know TV news anchors that have almost every foreign name spelled phonetically in their prompter. They seem to have a much better vocabulary than Trump but getting words twisted up on live TV is not a place they want to go so they cover their butts. > > Looks like that’s what the president was doing. A lot of people do. Care to defend this one: [“Trump says one of America’s greatest accomplishments is the ‘abolition of civil rights’ at National Prayer Breakfast”](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-prayer-breakfast-speech-abolition-civil-rights-today-video-a8768101.html?utm_source=reddit.com) The man is just stupid. Also ignorant, uneducated, and dumb. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/196 "2019-02-07T17:00:49Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Give me a break. The President of the United States should be able to pronounce such a common word without having it spelled out for him. \*Chemo \*is a VERY common word today. You see this as something inconsequential. I see it as one more example of this man’s unfathomable STUPIDITY. _shrug_ I think it’s reasonable, and I’m sure I hate the man almost as much as you. I guess I’m an idiot, too, because I could see that word tripping me up in a speech. I don’t see it written out very often, if at all. It’s primarily oral in my experience. But, please, let’s move on to substantive objections. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/197 "2019-02-07T17:06:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > _shrug_ I think it’s reasonable, and I’m sure I hate the man almost as much as you. I guess I’m an idiot, too, because I could see that word tripping me up in a speech. I don’t see it written out very often, if at all. It’s primarily oral in my experience. But, please, let’s move on to substantive objections. “Let’s move on to substantive objections”? Allow me to refer you to the Clusterfuck thread, currently at page 608 with 30,000+ posts. There are several other threads with _substantive objections_ to our so-called president. I’ll leave it to you to find them on your own. :dubious: And if you got elected president and went into the most important speech of the year not having read it beforehand, aloud, several times and familiarized yourself with every word, and STILL needed phonetic spelling, then, yes, I would conclude that you were an idiot, too. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/198 "2019-02-07T17:08:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “Let’s move on to substantive objections”? Allow me to refer you to the Clusterfuck thread, currently at page 608 with 30,000+ posts. There are several other threads with _substantive objections_ to our so-called president. I’ll leave it to you to find them on your own. :dubious: > > And if you got elected president and went into the most important speech of the year not having read it beforehand, aloud, several times and familiarized yourself with every word, and STILL needed phonetic spelling, then, yes, I would conclude that you were an idiot, too. :rolleyes: Well, good for you, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/199 "2019-02-07T17:17:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, good for you, I guess. Okay, honey. You can have the last word if it means that much to you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/200 "2019-02-07T23:37:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Is it a common tactic to ignore the actual words of a post one is replying to, in order to say something irrelevant? :dubious: It is now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994.md?page=11)