Reality TV, D.C. style

Governing, President Trump is finding out, is about far more than signing executive orders and photo ops.

Those members of Congress he spoke to last night — including the Democrats who sat on their hands and the Republicans who are growing nervous about the road ahead — needed to be convinced there is a real Trump agenda beyond banning Muslims and deporting illegal immigrants.

Last night he made a start on doing that — but only a start.

We have no doubt that the president is sincere in his effort to “keep America safe.” A $54 billion increase in the defense budget is a down payment on that promise to “provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war and — if they must — to fight and to win.” And yet it’s only about $18.5 billion more than President Obama’s budget projected spending for the year ahead.

Yes, governing is difficult, and as Trump himself noted, the remaking of the nation’s health care system, including the dismantling of Obamacare, is indeed “complicated.” What he did last night was lay down clear guidelines — his requirements — for repairing and replacing Obamacare, including covering preexisting conditions and allowing the sale of policies across state lines. It is an outline his fellow Republicans — and perhaps some Democrats — would be wise to follow.

Promising increased border security may have been a large part of what won Trump the presidency, but it is marginal in the heartland compared to the need for jobs, for economic growth and for the kind of major tax overhaul that will assure that growth.

Last night he promised “massive tax relief for the middle class” and a corporate tax cut, albeit without details.

The path, sketched out by Trump last night, will be critical to the nation’s future and his own success. But to achieve that success he must mean it when he said “the time for trivial fights is behind us” and he’ll have to listen, as Lincoln once urged, to the “better angels” in this case of his own nature.