From warmly congratulating newly elected Democratic congresswomen, to celebrating redemption in criminal justice reform and minority social mobility, the 2019 State of the Union address was President Trump at his best.
Trump was jovial and generous but also masterful in his political presentation. Trump praised the role of immigrants in American society and then articulated the costs of illegal immigrant criminality in American towns and cities. But there was a warmth to Trump’s speech that stands in stark contrast to Trump’s tweets. That warmth fits Trump well. He is a president of eccentricities, yes, but in the better element of that eccentricity we see an ability to appeal to Americans in ways that other politicians cannot.
Of course, sometimes Trump appeals to the worse impulses of our society. His use of division as a means of mobilizing specific sectors of the electorate is at times pernicious and deeply unpleasant. But this wasn’t the Trump we saw on Tuesday evening.
Instead, it was the Trump who spoke personally to a young cancer survivor named Grace, the Trump who praised a drug convict as a man redeemed, and a president who recognized the great heritage of an America that liberated the world from Nazi tyranny and today defends our citizens against evildoers who would target worshipers for their faiths. In this, the narrative binding of Trump’s references was clear: All Americans are worthy of respect and affection.
Trump should be this better president every single day.
