At least for one night, Donald Trump
put aside the bombast and bellicosity of a campaign that seemed to
bleed into his presidency. On a presidential stage, he acted and sounded
not unlike presidents of the past. Presidential, even.
In his
first address to a joint session of Congress, after a tumultuous first
month in office, Mr Trump delivered a conventional speech in a
conventional manner. That it was unexpected, and that the bar for
success was knee-high at best, is life in the age of Trump.
Yes,
much of the content was the same - the calls for a border wall, the
(unfounded) allegations that undocumented immigrants are prone to crime,
the full-throated exposition of an "America first" economic nationalism
and the warning that US allies must pay their fair share - but the
delivery was smooth and polished.
There was a moment before the
speech when cameras captured Mr Trump in his armoured limousine,
rehearsing his lines. Practice, it seems, made good, if not perfect. For
once, Donald Trump's delivery was spoken, not shouted. He appeared
poised, not petulant; forceful, not forced.
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