Commentary
Who Was This Guy? Suddenly, Trump Looked Like The President
- by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, March 1, 2017
Praise for President Trump's televised speech Tuesday night was widespread, but so was a sense of shock and even awe.
He surprised us all. The man took over prime-time TV for more than an hour and never complained about the media even once.
Throughout his address to a joint session of Congress, Donald Trump actually came across as conciliatory and inclusive, organized in his thoughts and words, and yes, dare I say, sane.
Various commentators had versions of essentially the same reaction: In his speech last night, Trump finally seemed presidential -- like he was really the president! Well, finally.
While watching him deliver this speech, it was reasonable to ask yourself: Where did this guy come from? Where has he been all this time?
Then I wondered if this was some sort of weird Trumpian strategy aimed at keeping everybody else off-balance -- namely, spend the first five weeks or so of his presidency keeping everyone up at night worrying about what idiotic thing he's doing in the wee hours of the morning, then deliver a prime-time speech in which, suddenly, he seemed like the most rational man on Earth.
Wasn't it just yesterday that a photo of Kellyanne Conway perched like a teen with her shoes underneath her on one of the Oval Office's fancy couches had everyone groaning about what's happening to our sacred White House?
The office was full of representatives of historically black colleges and universities (ushering in the use of a new acronym, HBCU) who were gathered there to meet the president, and Conway seemed to be obliviously texting someone.
This is when you know our social media obsessions have really gotten out of hand -- when a presidential aide is so busy working her smartphone that she can't be bothered to acknowledge an Oval Office-ful of distinguished visitors. And on Sunday night, a veteran accountant was so involved in Tweeting pictures of movie stars from backstage at the Oscars that he handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope and ruined the Best Picture award. But that's all grist for another column.
By Tuesday evening, President Trump had made everyone forget about Conway, who had been vilified on social media all afternoon.
The tone of Trump's speech was so upbeat that he even made his declarations about the “great, great wall” he intends to build on the border with Mexico sound inspiring. When he said this, you couldn't help wondering whether he was planning to build a replica of China's Great Wall.
This was one of the moments when the Republican side of the chamber rose to their feet while the Democrats sat. This reaction from the Democrats was understandable, where this wall is concerned.
But at other times, Trump's tone was so hopeful and optimistic that the Democrats’ insistence on remaining seated often came across as grumpy and petulant.
To give Trump his due, even the Democrats stood and applauded at various times -- which was a big surprise to a viewer at home who never expected to see Democrats applauding Donald Trump. Just to make sure I wasn't dreaming, I went online to see if hell had frozen over. It had not.
After the speech, some commentators credited Trump with possessing an instinct for appearing on television that helped him deliver a winning speech on prime-time TV. There is something to this theory.
As always, I was just as fascinated with the aftermath of the speech, as covered on C-Span, in which the president made his way out of the chamber and greeted various legislators and other dignitaries.
Like a real politician, he seemed genuinely effective in remembering people's names, asking them about their wives and children by name and basically making the small talk and signing the autographs that are the bread and butter of American politics.
For one evening at least, it was possible to believe that Donald Trump just might make it as President of the United States. As I write this, though, it's only around 10:30 in the morning on Wednesday, and the day is still young.
Absolute twaddle! "Who was this guy?" "P.T." Barnum as the cognoscenti are fully aware!
Kellyanne? You apparently missed all the viral photos yesterday of Obama from the past, with his shoes hoisted up on his Oval Office desk or planted on the fragile edge of a coffee table. I guess the shoe was on the other foot.
Trump gets this reaction EVERY TIME he delivers a speech via TelePrompter. Yes, Trump can manage to deliver a speech written by someone else without drooling on himself or insulting anyone. But "presidential"? I wouldn't count on that continuing for long.
Pretty sure Obama wasn't sitting with his feet up on the table while a couple of dozen visitors were standing stiffly at attention. Besides, I always thought the rule in the White House was: when the President stands up, EVERYBODY stands up (which is why cabinet members traditionally stand up when the President enters the room).
DON'T be Fooled...he's a tricky,lying BASTARD!!!
Presidential? It’s March Fool’s Day, right?
News flash: people do not change in days, weeks, or months. If they do a 180-degree change in a lifetime, it’s a rare miracle that takes time, hard work, and a sizable dose of humility. Lifelong liars don’t turn into truth-tellers at the age of 70; hateful, ugly mouthed doomsday-sayers do not turn into hopeful, optimistic leaders; and egotistical, unsympathetic, arrogant bullies don’t suddenly become thoughtful and conciliatory.
So who was running the White House yesterday? Wouldn’t we all like to have been a fly on the wall for the showdown between the real Trump and whatever parties persuaded him that he absolutely had to take this tone with Congress last night? (“You want me to say WHAT?”) Let's see how long it takes until the real Trump resurfaces and things go back to “normal.” In the meantime, I think I'll hold off celebrating.
Dear Mr. Buckman; Far be it from me to ruin your day, but after reading your praise of a man reading from a prepared script, I feel I must inform you that Marlon Brando was never actually the head of a Mafia crime family.
President of a 5th grade class reading off cue cards somebody else wrote ? He has no idea what he is saying, with a spitoons full of graft and lies spilling out with every breath. Back to the lipstick on a pig.
Douglas: A serious piece of advice; ... always re-read what you've written after a minute or two, carefully considering your thoughts. And only then, hit "submit comment."
In this particular case, your comparison is way, way off the mark.
Paula et al: The Guardian newspaper in Britain evaluated his speeches at Grade 4! "Believe me!"
I just checked ...
http://elelur.com/data_images/mammals/leopard/leopard-07.jpg
... still got spots.
What an odd topic to find fault with. The umbilical like reliance that the former President had on prepared text and his TOTUS, Teleprompter of the United States, remains legendary. Since all President Trump says and does is the immediate source of ridicule to some, delivering a prepared speech in the manner that all good speeches are delivered hardly seems worthy of snide critique.