The ethics chief who quit just went viral with his own “State of the Union” speech

Walter Shaub, who resigned as head of the Government Ethics Office early in Donald Trump’s administration to protest the president and his cronies fast and loose ethics, is now Senior Director, Ethics, for the Campaign Legal Center, and he frequently tweets his opinion of weighty ethical matters.

Today, however, he used his personal account to share a satirical parody of Trump’s State of the Union Speech he titled, “The Shtate Of The Uniom Ish Tremendoush.”

While there are a number of parodies of the speech floating around the Internet, Shaub is particularly pointed and quite amusing, so it is worth quoting some of it. These are excerpts but below is the full tweet.

“My fellow “Americans,” and you know who you are (wink), I will now read Steve Miller’s monotonous words.”

“There’s my wife Melania looking stormy tonight. We should be so lucky to have more immigrants like that. She’s from Slovenia. It’s next to Norway. So, she’s like practically a Norway person.”

“There’s the sweet aroma of anticipation in the air because coal jobs are coming back, along with other traditional professions: blacksmiths, cordwainers, boatswains, Bookbinders for a paperless society! Wheelwrights unite!”

“I.m reopening Guantanamo. Abu Ghraib too. And those secret CIA places – I’m not talking about those buildings with steeples where they torture you with sermons. I’m talking gulag-style torture. The best torture. Yes, America is great again! Halleluj. Halleluuuuuge,”

“In conclusion, the sthtate of the uniom ish great! So are my conflicts of interest. So great.”

Wow. Incredible. Folks, let me tell you, never seen a biglier speech before.

Benjamin Locke

Benjamin Locke is a retired college professor with an undergraduate degree in Industrial Labor and Relations from Cornell University and an MBA from the European School of Management.