Trump sets new standard in making an appeal beyond his base — ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON — After 40 tumultuous days in office — with each day sparking enough chaos and drama to exhaust the average consumer of news – President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress. His address was called, “The Renewal of the American Spirit.” White House staff had promised a “wave of optimism,” but as he strode through the Capitol toward the lectern, the question on many observers’ lips was, “What will he do next?”

What Trump did is learn from past stumbles, stick to the script, speak with precision – and optimism – as he reached beyond his right-leaning base.

Former Reagan speechwriter Ken Khachigian gave his verdict. “Without any question, it’s the best speech he’s ever given,” Khachigian said.

Khachigian believes Trump set a new standard for himself. “I think he probably did win a few converts tonight,” Khachigian added. “Whether they’re lasting or not mostly will depend on him.”

“I think he got close to leadership tonight,” communications specialist and speech coach Ruth Sherman concluded. “The fact that he stuck to the speech was a win for him in the first place.” He barely went off script “which was surprising and welcome.”

“I’m sure the people in the White House are thrilled,” offered Democratic strategist and CNN contributor Maria Cardona. “He didn’t deviate.” And “he proved that he could read a Teleprompter for a little bit over an hour.”

Trump’s strength as a communicator lies in his ability to make simple statements that appeal to common sense. To wit: The government should protect the public, the military should only fight to win, and it is not a president’s job to represent the world. “My job is to represent the United States of America,” he said.

Trump made his case for repealing and replacing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. “I thought Trump did what he needed to do,” noted Rachel Bovard of the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, which frequently advises Trump on policy.

And yet Trump passed the responsibility for producing a fix to Democrats and Republicans in Congress. “I think that he is going to need to do some spine-stiffening exercises with Congress,” Bovard offered. She added that he should have told the GOP Congress to take a 2015 measure to repeal Obamacare “and pass it again.”

The most moving moment of the speech involved no words. When Trump recognized Carryn Owens, widow of fallen Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, Democrats and Republicans cheered for two minutes, as she looked upward and whispered her love to her warrior husband.

“It was a very emotional moment,” Sherman noted. This speech showed Trump relating to ordinary Americans in a way that “really connects you with him.”

Of course, many Democrats are not moved because they strongly disagree with Trump’s positions. “He had a golden opportunity tonight to reach out to the 55 percent of Americans who don’t approve of him and don’t want him in the White House,” said Cardona.

Thing is, it’s hard to imagine Trump appealing to the Democratic base that will never see immigration enforcement as he does.

But here is progress: Trump spoke with precision that is not easily misconstrued. For Trump’s base and independents, Trump offered something new. He showed discipline. He didn’t fall into the usual rabbit holes against his perceived enemies that have made some of his speeches feel voyeuristic to watch.

“Like I said, he set a standard for himself,” Khachigian noted. “He’s going to have to make it part of his practice of his presidency.”

The new standard, one can hope, will be that the next big speech Trump delivers will be something most noteworthy not for his rants about the media, or his electoral victories. The new standard could spell the end of Washington’s perennial question, “What will he do next?” Perhaps the next big speech, like this one, will be about America.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.