Trump made big promises; can he deliver?
President Donald Trump isn’t a traditional orator. While he’s an animated communicator, rarely does this president seek to give inspirational speeches in the style of John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan. Trump is conversational at political rallies and tempestuous on Twitter. His 2017 inaugural address was bleak in its attack on the “ravages” of trade. Often he’s nasty, or tone-deaf.
But on Tuesday evening, in Trump’s first State of the Union address, the president stuck to the teleprompter to deliver a broad speech that evidenced his unmistakable cadence, yet colored within the traditional margins of presidential performance. He laid out an agenda for his Year 2, with an emphasis on economic growth, job creation and modernizing America’s infrastructure: “There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream. If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, you can dream anything, you can be anything and together we can achieve absolutely anything.”
While Trump’s performance was noteworthy for basic restraint, the real significance wasn’t in the delivery but the moment. Trump has been president for a year. He’s heading toward a November midterm election that will bolster or weaken his party’s standing in the House and Senate. There’s a short window to pass any major legislation. That gave this speech its juice: Trump telegraphed some priorities.
Can he follow words with action?
His erratic Year 1 gives no assurance that he’ll follow through on these priorities. Except that he’ll continue to use Twitter as his bully pulpit and blunt force often to his detriment: Some tweets contradict his own policy goals, and some public remarks are best forgotten because they’re mainly hot air.
It’s worth remembering Trump is still new to the Oval Office and political leadership. He thinks he’s an expert, but that’s the brash real-estate developer listening to his ego. Trump’s burned a lot of time on the job misfiring on policies and attacking political foes. Key White House aides were bad hires who needed to be replaced. The Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, which turns in part on Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, is a major distraction. The end results are unknowable.
In his address, Trump spoke of signing a major tax-reform package into law and cutting the regulatory burdens on business to spur growth and job gains. He’s also made diplomatic efforts to contain North Korea that are urgent and pragmatic. He talked tough on Iran but did not abrogate the nuclear deal. On immigration he’s sent confused signals about whether he’d support a deal to allow the young immigrants known as the Dreamers to stay in the country. During his speech he reiterated interest in a four-pillar agreement: a path to citizenship for 1.8 million immigrants; border security, a wall included; an emphasis on merit in migration policy; and restrictions on admission for extended family members. We disagree with some of those elements, but we do want the president and Congress to strike a deal. We don’t know whether Trump is up to the challenge.
That’s the problem. Trump is mercurial and moody, and thus not a reliable political partner for Democrats, Republicans or foreign leaders. We don’t see a Trump doctrine. We haven’t yet seen a deal-maker, either, despite his reputation. He’s too temperamental to pin down or be trusted.
Ideally, this first State of the Union address would help define the Trump presidency as it would bind the wounds of the previous election. But the country is too politically fractured, and Trump too divisive. On Tuesday the president made big promises — none more important than his bipartisanship mantra. But that’s not enough. The country needs results. Trump’s next few months will set the trajectory for the rest of his term.