Watching Donald Trump's State of the Union, my mind went straight to Prince. Two of his songs kept echoing: "The Truth" — whose opening line matter here (What if half the things ever said/ turned out to be a line?) — and "Money Don't Matter 2 Night", the lament of a man who keeps losing because he worships money.
The first verse of the latter gem off Diamond and Pearls says people who chase money lose themselves. Prince reveals that money is an excuse, a shield to hide emotional immaturity that allows avoidance.
The second verse describes predatory capitalism. It speaks of “cool investments,” “users,” and “snakes in every color, every nationality, and size. The people chasing money get eaten by it.
The fourth verse comes very close to describing America today. We’re poised to send troops to Iran, have changed a regime in Venezuela, ensured instability in the Middle East, and have killed our own citizens in American cities.
Hey now, maybe we can find a good reason
2 send a child off 2 war
So what if we’re controllin’ all the oil,
Is it worth a child dying 4? (is it worth it?)
If long life is what we all live 4
Then long life will come 2 pass
Anything is better than the picture of the child
In a cloud of gas
And u think u got it bad
Trump may well be surrounded by people overwhelmed by all the winning, especially within his own family. Jared and Ivanka benefited from a $2 billion deal following the last Trump administration. Don Jr and Eric secured a $500 billion investment in their Crypto firm. Trump’s cabinet and close associates at one time contained 13 billionaires, including the richest man in the world, and to no surprise, they’re winning. But what about the rest of America? A recent poll said 74% of Americans are dissatisfied with the economy. Trump’s response was basically, “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night.”
Money, apparently, doesn't matter to brown people who discover their Fourth Amendment protections aren't being upheld. It didn't seem to matter to survicors in Trump's audience who felt ignored — or to those pushing for transparency as the Justice Department withholds Epstein-related documents and reports of allegations involving powerful figures. To be clear: accusations exist in public reporting, and many victims still seek accountability.
Money don't matter to the Republican Senators and Congressmen cheering Trump’s every line, even when he called all the immigrants of an African nation “pirates.”
“The Somali pirates who ransack Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception," said Trump "Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA.”
It doesn't matter that Somali migration to the U.S. is primarily through legal refugee programs.
There are a few periods in American history that have been called its Golden Age. Most people think of the 1950s when capitalism was on the rise, and many fortunes were made. Others refer to the Gilded Age, which was not golden for most Americans, but it is sometimes referenced as a high point of economic expansion.
When anyone speaks of the Golden Age, it has never applied universally to the American people. It meant what Trump means: that the rich are doing well. In his case, it means that he and his family are getting paid. His speech made it clear that a section of Americans are living their best lives. As for the rest of us —money don't matter 2 night.