The State of the Game Show
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Politics
/ February 27, 2026
The State of the Game Show
In this week’s Elie v. US, our justice correspondent explores how Trump’s State of the Union turned authoritarian violence into a titillating event. Plus Kansas’s vile ban on driving-while-trans and XBox’s depressing AI turn.
Elie Mystal
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Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on February 24, 2026.(Kenny Holston-Pool / Getty Images)
This is a preview of Nation Justice Correspondent Elie Mystal’s new weekly newsletter. Click here to receive this newsletter in your inbox each Friday.
It turns out that the only thing Suzanne Collins got wrong when she wrote the Hunger Games trilogy was the idea that the game show would be a function of the government—not the way the government functioned. She imagined that the various games masters would serve at the pleasure of the autocrat, while President Snow would keep himself one step removed to focus on more important matters of state.
In the real dystopian nightmare that is Trump-era America, we’ve got things reversed. The president is the games master. It’s the functionaries, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought, who serve at a remove to focus on the more important matters of state, while the president dyes his hair and puts on a show for the cameras. It’s the president who grabs the microphone to revel in the spectacles of violence and death he has created.
The modern State of the Union address is always political theater—but it wasn’t set out to be. The Constitution positions the president and Congress as adversaries, with Congress clearly given the upper hand. Just look at the State of the Union clause in the Constitution. It’s nestled in Article II (the section that creates the executive branch): “[The President] shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” It reads like a CEO (the president) is being summoned to make a presentation to their board of directors (Congress).
You wouldn’t know this from watching our modern spectacle. Instead of treating the president like its employee, Congress debases itself, yearly, while begging for photo opps with the sitting president. Congress has turned a clause meant to remind the president that he is not a king into the most monarchical event on the political calendar.
The State of the Union is always theater, but this year, Trump turned this annual address into a game show. There were celebrity appearances, surprise reveals, and an extended sports break, all while Trump played master of ceremonies over his kingdom—Ilhan Omar did …
Every delay has consequences.
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Current Issue
Politics
/ February 27, 2026
The State of the Game Show
In this week’s Elie v. US, our justice correspondent explores how Trump’s State of the Union turned authoritarian violence into a titillating event. Plus Kansas’s vile ban on driving-while-trans and XBox’s depressing AI turn.
Elie Mystal
Share
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X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
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Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on February 24, 2026.(Kenny Holston-Pool / Getty Images)
This is a preview of Nation Justice Correspondent Elie Mystal’s new weekly newsletter. Click here to receive this newsletter in your inbox each Friday.
It turns out that the only thing Suzanne Collins got wrong when she wrote the Hunger Games trilogy was the idea that the game show would be a function of the government—not the way the government functioned. She imagined that the various games masters would serve at the pleasure of the autocrat, while President Snow would keep himself one step removed to focus on more important matters of state.
In the real dystopian nightmare that is Trump-era America, we’ve got things reversed. The president is the games master. It’s the functionaries, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought, who serve at a remove to focus on the more important matters of state, while the president dyes his hair and puts on a show for the cameras. It’s the president who grabs the microphone to revel in the spectacles of violence and death he has created.
The modern State of the Union address is always political theater—but it wasn’t set out to be. The Constitution positions the president and Congress as adversaries, with Congress clearly given the upper hand. Just look at the State of the Union clause in the Constitution. It’s nestled in Article II (the section that creates the executive branch): “[The President] shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” It reads like a CEO (the president) is being summoned to make a presentation to their board of directors (Congress).
You wouldn’t know this from watching our modern spectacle. Instead of treating the president like its employee, Congress debases itself, yearly, while begging for photo opps with the sitting president. Congress has turned a clause meant to remind the president that he is not a king into the most monarchical event on the political calendar.
The State of the Union is always theater, but this year, Trump turned this annual address into a game show. There were celebrity appearances, surprise reveals, and an extended sports break, all while Trump played master of ceremonies over his kingdom—Ilhan Omar did …
The State of the Game Show
Every delay has consequences.
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Current Issue
Politics
/ February 27, 2026
The State of the Game Show
In this week’s Elie v. US, our justice correspondent explores how Trump’s State of the Union turned authoritarian violence into a titillating event. Plus Kansas’s vile ban on driving-while-trans and XBox’s depressing AI turn.
Elie Mystal
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on February 24, 2026.(Kenny Holston-Pool / Getty Images)
This is a preview of Nation Justice Correspondent Elie Mystal’s new weekly newsletter. Click here to receive this newsletter in your inbox each Friday.
It turns out that the only thing Suzanne Collins got wrong when she wrote the Hunger Games trilogy was the idea that the game show would be a function of the government—not the way the government functioned. She imagined that the various games masters would serve at the pleasure of the autocrat, while President Snow would keep himself one step removed to focus on more important matters of state.
In the real dystopian nightmare that is Trump-era America, we’ve got things reversed. The president is the games master. It’s the functionaries, Stephen Miller and Russell Vought, who serve at a remove to focus on the more important matters of state, while the president dyes his hair and puts on a show for the cameras. It’s the president who grabs the microphone to revel in the spectacles of violence and death he has created.
The modern State of the Union address is always political theater—but it wasn’t set out to be. The Constitution positions the president and Congress as adversaries, with Congress clearly given the upper hand. Just look at the State of the Union clause in the Constitution. It’s nestled in Article II (the section that creates the executive branch): “[The President] shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” It reads like a CEO (the president) is being summoned to make a presentation to their board of directors (Congress).
You wouldn’t know this from watching our modern spectacle. Instead of treating the president like its employee, Congress debases itself, yearly, while begging for photo opps with the sitting president. Congress has turned a clause meant to remind the president that he is not a king into the most monarchical event on the political calendar.
The State of the Union is always theater, but this year, Trump turned this annual address into a game show. There were celebrity appearances, surprise reveals, and an extended sports break, all while Trump played master of ceremonies over his kingdom—Ilhan Omar did …
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