Donald Trump delivered the most presidential speech of his 40-day-old presidency Tuesday night, trading dark talk of “American carnage” for a vow to put petty politics aside to unite the nation behind his plan for economic growth, national security and a reborn spirit of possibility.
So, does the president truly want to move from mourning in America to morning in America? Don’t count us among the convinced just yet. The reality TV star-turned-leader-of-the-free-world will have to do more than read his speechwriters’ words from a teleprompter to make a reeling America feel great — or even OK.
Trump headed into his first formal address to Congress with historically low public approval ratings and much to prove. The first chapter of his tenure has been marked by chaos and impulsiveness, a blend of ill-considered attempts to punish immigrants, cheap shots at everyone from public servants to his successor on “The Apprentice,” and repeated assurances that his crowds are really, really huge.
One thing that has become clear is that Trump, despite his towering ego, is eager to say what his audience wants to hear. So as he stood before a two-party Congress and a divided nation Tuesday, he invoked the better angels of presidential oratory.
“The time for small thinking is over, the time for trivial fights is behind us,” he declared. “From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears.”
Trump’s speech repeated promises made during his campaign: better jobs for working-class Americans, improved health care, a stronger military and a $1 trillion infrastructure program. “Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways, gleaming across our very, very beautiful land.”
At this point in his first term, President Barack Obama had already delivered a detailed plan to pull the nation back from recession. Trump, by contrast, has failed to furnish the details or garner the bipartisan political support needed to deliver on his promises.
When it came to the one thing he has delivered — a campaign to crack down on immigrants that is now the subject of multiple court challenges — Trump sent decidedly mixed signals on Tuesday. During lunch with television anchors at the White House, Trump startled those in attendance by saying he might support legal status for immigrants who have not committed serious crimes — a sharp departure from his previously draconian stance and a leniency that would go well beyond Obama’s.
But during his congressional address later, Trump offered little evidence of a humane approach, instead sounding — with Republicans offering standing ovations as reward — the familiar theme of hiding the nation behind a “great, great wall.”
After ascending to power in a campaign aflame with hate, Trump at last deplored its public expression. “Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.”
Those are important words, ones we hope his more virulent supporters will hear and his administration will put into action.
Just as important as Trump’s statements on some topics was his silence on others. He offered no more blistering attacks on the “fake news” media (who have been holding him accountable to the facts), and no glib statements about the ease of reshaping health care (which he now acknowledges is “so complicated”).
While most presidents shift quickly from campaign fancies to governing realities, perhaps it’s taken this rookie politician a little longer to face the fact that this job is, well, complicated.
The fact is that America needs a leader. An electoral majority gave Trump the opportunity to pursue an agenda quite different than his predecessor’s. But the oath he took in January requires him to govern a land that includes supporters and detractors alike, a land in which the health and hopes of millions depend on a president who takes his duty seriously. Let’s hope that era has returned.