It set a record as the longest-ever presidential address to Congress, but it never lagged: President Trump delivered a tour de force Tuesday night, putting a coherent and reassuring frame on his insanely busy first weeks in office even as he made viewers laugh and cry — finishing up with an inspiring crescendo from the successes of America’s past and present to his promised new Golden Age.
Trump is beyond comfortable at the podium, shifting readily from casual and comical to formal and profound; he used all his talent to deliver a genuine barnburner — fundamentally reaffirming that he’s on top of his game and revelling in his work.
Democrats came off as hopelessly churlish, from Rep. Al Green’s indecorous ranting before his ejection to the pathetic round protest signs they held up all speech long to their insistence on sitting on their hands even for the most uplifting moments.
Moments like young cancer survivor D.J. Daniel learning he’d just been made an honorary Secret Service agent, or high-schooler Jason Hartley finding out he’d been accepted to West Point — with DJ rushing over in the gallery to shake his hand in congratulations.
All speech long, Trump offered common sense — two genders; hiring and promotion on merit; DOGE shutting down utter nonsense; a border closed without the bill that Democrats had insisted all year was the only possible solution; real prospects for peace with honor in Ukraine.
New presidents do such joint addresses in lieu of an official State of the Union speech, but this had none of the dry lists ticking off trivia of those affairs, even though the president didn’t shy from telling details to make a point.
He listed promises made and promises kept, with more promise-keeping well in motion; he joked and inspired, assured his base and baited the opposition; he spoke to the country and he owned the room. It was one speech on one night still early in his term, but Donald Trump did his cause and the nation’s as much good as he possibly could, assuring America that for all the sound, fury and (for many) confusion of the early going, he’s in total command and he has Americans dreaming.
