Donald Trump's Rope-a-Dope

What if you have spent weeks, even months preparing everyone for the arrival of the Antichrist, and he does not show up? By all rational accounts the demonic Donald Trump was nowhere to be found during last night’s State of the Union address.

Could it be that he had been playing rope-a-dope, colluding with his enemies in crafting the image that they wanted to see, only to wait until they had completely exhausted themselves? Then he could rip away the mask and reveal himself to be sensible and even presidential. It is certain that Trump’s detractors were taken aback by last night’s speech. They were caught off stride and did not know what to do.

They ended up looking petulant and were grasping at straws. Democratic women were dressed in white in order to proclaim their white privilege. Recently elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez opined that the speech was Steve Bannon on steroids. This tells us that the Democratic Party has managed to give its leadership to a complete fool, someone who is as radical as Keith Ellison, but who lacks the wit. If Trump’s speech was anything, it was a repudiation of the bare-knuckles Bannon approach to communication.

If you would rather not believe that Trump had mapped it all out, that his pivot was not part of a grand plan—there is no reason why it should be—it might be that Trump has learned from his rookie mistakes. Everyone believes that Trump cannot change and that he cannot take responsibility for his errors. And yet, in a talk with Fox and Friends hosts two days ago he graded himself a C or C+ for communication. That is not a good grade. It did not signal arrogance.

So, Trump stepped before the nation and looked as though he had worked on the speech, that he had worked on the delivery and that he had wanted to be conciliatory and unifying. He did not stray into irrelevant and distracting asides. He did not wing it. As commentators from Chris Wallace on Fox News to Van Jones on CNN said… Trump was presidential. God only knows whether the speech will usher in a new era or whether it was one-off.

News reports said as much. Janet Hook in the Wall Street Journal:

President Donald Trump, after reaching the White House with fiery rhetorical attacks and a combative message, pitched his agenda to voters and Congress with language that was much more presidential and traditional in tone. He also issued a call for American renewal in stark contrast to the aggressively nationalist posture he outlined at his inauguration just over a month ago.

She continued:

His speech largely avoided his signature attacks on his adversaries and the political establishment. While he once again highlighted the challenges of violent crime in some urban communities and drew attention to crimes committed by illegal immigrants, he didn’t repeat his denunciation of “American carnage” in his inaugural address.

And,

In shifting his tone, Mr. Trump signaled he was willing to set aside campaign-style rhetoric for a less divisive style more conducive to governing—at least for the moment.

In any event, the reviews have been very good. Not from Michael Moore and not from Bill Maher—they do have to play to their malcontents—but even from sensible liberals.

As for liberals, Michael Tomasky offered this:

Trump showed tonight that he can sound like a president. That’s not nothing. It’s something he’s never done before. But can he be a president we can respect, even if we disagree? Each day tells us he can’t, and this speech doesn’t change that at all.

And the polls bear it out:

Most Americans who watched President Donald Trump's first address to Congress gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up, a poll of speech-watchers showed.

The CNN/ORC survey found 57 percent of viewers had a very positive reaction to the speech – and about 7-in-10 said the speech made them feel more optimistic about the direction of the country.

Everyone is buzzing about the ovation given to Carryn Owens, the wife of Navy Seal Ryan Owens. As you recall, Owens was the sole casualty of a raid into Yemen. His father had made news by refusing to meet with Donald Trump and by denouncing the raid for having produced no serious intelligence. Reports from the Pentagon had suggested as much. Last night, Trump declared that Defense Secretary Mattis had told him otherwise. But the ovation for a tearful and prayerful Carryn Owens was a powerful emotional moment, one that even Democrats could not deny. And one that erased Owens's father's objections.

It’s one thing to get the words right. It’s quite another to get the emotion right.

Van Jones said this:

Donald Trump "became president of the United States" when he recognized the widow of slain Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, CNN commentator Van Jones said Tuesday.

"He became president of the United States in that moment," Jones told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. "Period.

“There are a lot of people who have a lot of reason to be frustrated with him, fearful of him, mad at him.

"But that was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period."

And Jones added:

"He did something extraordinary," Jones told Cooper, "and for people who have been hoping that he would become unifying, hoping that he might find some way to become presidential, they should be happy with that moment."

As can be expected, Trump was criticized in the media for not offering specifics and for not explain how his proposals would turn into legislation. One might say that Trump does not really know enough to offer too many specifics. After all, just a few days ago he admitted that health care was far more complex than he had imagined.

And yet, if he had not given the speech that he had given, his presidency would have been damaged, perhaps beyond repair. By finding a way to appear presidential, by rallying the American people to a cause that was less partisan than usual, he threw a lifeline to Congressional Republicans. He made it possible for them to support him. He tied their political futures to him. If he had not done so he would have been done.

For now, Democratic politicians are stunned, roughly as George Foreman was in the Rumble in the Jungle.

Roger Simon put it well:

The Democrats -- the silly ladies dressed in white and all the others -- bet the house that Trump would make a fool of himself and Donald cut the legs out from under them. And when you bet the house and lose, you go home bankrupt.  And without a home to go to.

He cut the Democrats' legs out in the worst way, exposing them for the empty party they are with nothing going for them but identity politics. Yet, it is becoming increasingly obvious that if anyone does anything for the inner cities, it will be Trump the builder, not the Democrats who had a chance for fifty or sixty years and did nothing.  Bye, bye, identity politics.   No wonder Maxine Waters is so apoplectic.

[Addendum: For further press commentary, see this Daily Caller article.]