{"id":2573532,"date":"2026-02-25T12:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-frogs-upstaged-robert-de-niro-at-absurdist-state-of-the-union-alternative\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T18:00:25","slug":"how-frogs-upstaged-robert-de-niro-at-absurdist-state-of-the-union-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-frogs-upstaged-robert-de-niro-at-absurdist-state-of-the-union-alternative\/","title":{"rendered":"How frogs upstaged Robert De Niro at absurdist State of the Union alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-frogs-upstaged-robert-de-niro-at-absurdist-state-of-the-union-alternative%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573532&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This Washington Secrets piece blends satirical flair with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-media-reacted-to-rush-limbaughs-death\/\" title=\"How The Media Reacted To Rush Limbaugh\u2019s Death\">political commentary<\/a> to recount an choice take on the State of the Union.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; At the National Press Club, the formal SOTU is upstaged by an absurdist event called \u201cState of the Swamp,\u201d where Donald Trump shows up in a giraffe costume and is cheered by inflatable frog protesters. The night features Robby Roadsteamer, a hybrid activist-comedian, and a mix of Trump allies-turned-critics, comedians, populist Left figures, journalists, and even a Hollywood legend. The mood is playful and chaotic, with green frog caps on seats and chants of \u201cRibbit\u201d interrupting proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Key voices frame the spectacle: Miles Taylor argues the administration hasn\u2019t drained the swamp but deepened it; Stephanie Grisham recalls Trump\u2019s strategy of repeating lies until believed, while George conway denounces him as a deranged narcissist. Roadsteamer sums up the theme by saying absurdity should be fought with more absurdity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece also covers Rom-com diplomacy: Britain\u2019s new ambassador,Christian Turner,hosts a reception in the same diplomatic ballroom soon after a mandelson-related controversy. Turner pledges a balanced approach\u2014defend core U.S.-U.K. interests, push back on Fox News-style talking points, and engage in open debate about shared security and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/project-veritas-strips-cnn-naked\/\" title=\"Project Veritas Strips CNN Naked\">free speech<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A \u201cLunchtime reading\u201d roundup links to three stories: Bill Gates apologizing over Epstein ties; the Pentagon pressuring Anthropic on AI guardrails; and what Trump did not say in his State of the Union.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The article closes by noting it\u2019s written by Rob Crilly for Washington Secrets, inviting readers to sign up and share tips.<\/p>\n<p>the piece uses surreal protest theater to critique contemporary political theater in Washington while linking it to diplomatic humor and ongoing policy debates.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">How frogs upstaged Robert De Niro at absurdist State of the Union alternative<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong><em>Welcome to Washington Secrets, where we saw a full 15 minutes of last night&rsquo;s State of the Union. Instead we went deep inside the resistance to bring you a dispatch from the frontline in the nation&rsquo;s war of absurdity, and a night earlier, we tucked into fish and chips (and &ldquo;Turner Tonic&rdquo; cocktails) in order to report on the latest addition to Washington&rsquo;s diplomatic corps<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Robby Roadsteamer is part activist, part gonzo comedian, and all in. All the time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4468951\/ross-worthington-speechwriter-behind-state-of-the-union\/\">Ross Worthington: The speechwriter behind the State of the Union<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4467303\/pollster-wild-cards-upend-2026-elections\/\">Pollster sets out the wild cards that could upend the 2026 midterm elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/4465563\/viewers-bombard-fcc-complaints-jimmy-kimmel-charlie-kirk\/\">Viewers bombarded &#8216;snowflake&#8217; FCC with complaints when Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s show was pulled over Charlie Kirk comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>As <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> started his marathon State of the Union address, he entered stage left, twerking, dressed in a giraffe costume. Then he serenaded the resistance rally with his newest one-line song: &ldquo;Donald Trump was on the Epstein plane. Donald Trump was on the Epstein plane.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Beside him, 15 people in inflatable frog suits bobbed along to the refrain as it echoed around the ballroom of the National Press Club just a block from the White House.<\/p>\n<p>It was a moment of utter absurdity, and in the moment it all sort of made sense.<\/p>\n<p>This was the &ldquo;State of the Swamp,&rdquo; one of a growing number of alternative ways to follow Trump&rsquo;s biggest speech of the year without actually watching the speech.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He promised he would drain the swamp, the corruption and the grift,&rdquo; said <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/miles-taylor\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/miles-taylor\/\"><strong>Miles Taylor<\/strong><\/a>, the former Trump official, anonymous author, and administration dissident, who compered the evening. &ldquo;And instead of draining the swamp, he turned America into the swamp.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The face of his movement is green and bug-eyed. The frogs bopped along with every speaker.<\/p>\n<p>They have become a key part of protests ever since a video captured the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >moment federal agents pepper-sprayed<\/a> a puffy-suited Seth &ldquo;Toad&rdquo; Todd via his air intake.<\/p>\n<p>Guests in the ballroom found green, bobble-eyed green caps on their seats.<\/p>\n<p>The line-up was a mix of Trump allies who turned against their boss, comedians, members of the populist Left, journalists who lost jobs for condemning the president, an Oscar-winning Hollywood legend, and besuited politicians who didn&rsquo;t get the memo about wearing green.<\/p>\n<p>Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump press secretary, spoke for four minutes. Which is four minutes longer than she ever managed in the White House briefing room. A fact she leaned into.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the one who never stood behind a podium at the White House, and that is because I could never bring myself to lie to you guys,&rdquo; she said. (This wasn&rsquo;t the sort of audience that was going to wonder then why she took the job in the first place or point out the difference between a podium and a lectern.)<\/p>\n<p>She brought the house down as she explained that Trump once outlined to her how his rhetorical policy was to repeat lies until people believed them.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That is his strategy,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And I can promise you he is lying right now to this country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>George Conway and his odd-colored hair popped on a big screen above the stage so he could denounce Trump as a &ldquo;deranged narcissist.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4470556\/these-people-are-crazy-six-takeaways-from-trumps-state-of-the-union\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4470556\/these-people-are-crazy-six-takeaways-from-trumps-state-of-the-union\/\"><strong>&ldquo;THESE PEOPLE ARE CRAZY&rdquo;: SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP&rsquo;S STATE OF THE UNION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The actual State of the Union made only a fleeting appearance, beamed into the ballroom as it emptied for a 15-minute toilet break.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the stage included discussions of why pelting federal agents with sex toys was a winning strategy. One speaker described seeing a suitcase of dildos backstage.<\/p>\n<p>The whole thing was delivered with a sort of hokey, homemade amateurism. There was none of the slick production of a Turning Point USA summit, and the night ran behind schedule before it even began.<\/p>\n<p>Broadcaster Mehdi Hassan&rsquo;s joke about Trump&rsquo;s bronzer would have landed better if his microphone had been on.<\/p>\n<p>Every so often, someone at the back of the room shouted: &ldquo;Ribbit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Who knows what Robert De Niro made of the production values, but he appeared as the final speaker with a rallying call to act decisively in the midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m filled with anger and outrage, but I&rsquo;m saved from total despair by rays of hope,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd roared its approval with a chant of, &ldquo;Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But it was Roadsteamer who probably summed up the theme of the night<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We do not fight absurdity with valor,&rdquo; he shouted at one point, &ldquo;we fight absurdity with more absurdity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rom-com-diplomacy\">Rom-com diplomacy<\/h2>\n<p>The timing could not have been more awkward. <\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of Washington&rsquo;s great and good crammed into the finest diplomatic mansion in the city to welcome Christian Turner as Britain&rsquo;s new ambassador, barely hours after Peter Mandelson, the last one, was arrested on suspicion of passing confidential government information to Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n<p>It meant that Turner, an affable career diplomat, was welcoming guests to the same ballroom where Mandelson (or &ldquo;the last guy&rdquo; as one guest diplomatically put it to Secrets) stood with Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, almost exactly a year earlier.<\/p>\n<p>None of that stopped the new ambassador from delivering an upbeat assessment of U.S.-U.K. relations.<\/p>\n<p>And as foreign governments wonder whether to go the full Carney &mdash; and turn up the heat on Trump like the Canadian Prime Minister &mdash; or shower the president with praise to avoid the Greenland treatment, Turner offered a middle way.<\/p>\n<p>The recent White House National Security Strategy, which has European capitals wondering whether Trump is still an ally, was a simple statement about protecting core national interests, he said. &ldquo;I have no problem with that,&rdquo; Turner said.<\/p>\n<p>But he also said he would push back on the sort of Fox News talking points that the administration echoes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t shy from debate,&rdquo; Turner told an audience sipping on &ldquo;Turner Tonic&rdquo; cocktails and eating fish and chips from paper cones. &ldquo;I will tell you why London is the safest city in the G7 &mdash; fact &mdash; why we&rsquo;re not curtailing free speech &mdash; fact &mdash; and I want to hear how you see it too.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>And Secrets can reveal that Turner has a fun pop-culture way of describing that third-way approach in private.<\/p>\n<p>You don&rsquo;t just want to go all <em>Love Actually<\/em>, he has told guests of his residence. Nor do you want to take <em>The Thick of It<\/em> approach, referring to a British TV comedy that featured a ferocious, foul-talking, expletive-throwing, government director of communications by the name of Malcolm Tucker.<\/p>\n<p>Sample Tucker quote: &ldquo;I think we should use the &lsquo;carrot and stick&rsquo; approach. You take a carrot, you stick it up his f***ing arse, followed by the stick, followed by an even bigger, rougher carrot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Quite so.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lunchtime-reading\">Lunchtime reading<\/h2>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/bill-gates-apologizes-to-foundation-staff-over-epstein-ties-67f39ef5?st=cuyTkJ\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/bill-gates-apologizes-to-foundation-staff-over-epstein-ties-67f39ef5?st=cuyTkJ\"><strong>Bill Gates apologizes to foundation staff over Epstein ties<\/strong><\/a>: &ldquo;It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein&rdquo; and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said. &ldquo;I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/02\/24\/tech\/hegseth-anthropic-ai-military-amodei\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/02\/24\/tech\/hegseth-anthropic-ai-military-amodei\"><strong>Pentagon threatens to make Anthropic a pariah if it refuses to drop AI guardrails<\/strong><\/a>: Pete Hegseth has set a Friday deadline for the artificial intelligence provider to fall into line. Yet his threats seem contradictory: On the one hand, put Anthropic on a government blacklist as a supply chain risk, and on the other, activate the Defense Production Act so that the Pentagon can use its technology with or without the company&rsquo;s consent.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4470918\/state-of-the-union-what-trump-did-not-say\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4470918\/state-of-the-union-what-trump-did-not-say\/\"><strong>State of the Union: Here&rsquo;s what Trump didn&rsquo;t say<\/strong><\/a>: President&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;made the case that happy days are here again in the first&nbsp;State of the Union&nbsp;of his second term, but there was little talk of transition or pain.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, whom you can reach at secrets@washingtonexaminer DOT COM with your comments, story tips, and suggestions. If a friend sent you this and you&rsquo;d like to sign up,&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/newsletters.washingtonexaminer.com\/newsletters\/washington-secrets\/?utm_source=Washington%20Secrets%20Lara%20Trump_01\/21\/2026&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=WEX_Washington%20Secrets&amp;rid=25812206&amp;env=da31c45955c9411a6c40ecd0e967fa8def1f0fc08362faaa0dee09386ff5c41b\">click here.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Frogs outshine De Niro in absurd SOTU spoof<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4136,"featured_media":2573533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26055847478450.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[74569,50846,74568,32870,74074],"class_list":["post-2573532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-absurdist","tag-deniro","tag-frogs","tag-satire","tag-stateoftheunion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26055847478450.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573532"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573539,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573532\/revisions\/2573539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}