The New Yorker: What Makes a Trump Speech Different

The one thing we know for sure is that tonight’s speech will be a long one. Last year, in early March, Donald Trump went to absolutely Castro-like lengths in his address to Congress, which broke the modern record for such a speech, at ninety-nine minutes—beating Bill Clinton’s stem-winder State of the Union in 2000. Trump himself has already promised another long one tonight.

The President comes into tonight’s speech in a very different political position than he was a year ago. His approval ratings are cratering. His policies have inspired backlash, even in parts of the country that supported him. The Supreme Court has, as of last week, thrown out his sweeping international tariffs, the main pillar of his economic program. It’s not clear what, if any, agenda he has to propose to Congress at this point.

What makes this kind of a speech from Trump so different from those by other Presidents—certainly in my lifetime—is that he has essentially chosen to govern almost purely through broad executive powers that he claims he has, bypassing Congress and even trying to bypass the courts. It’s hard to imagine what Trump will say to dig himself out of this political hole, because he doesn’t really seem interested in convincing any of us. Trump is not likely, for example, to propose that Congress pass legislation to enshrine his tariffs, as the Supreme Court suggested. He doesn’t have the votes to do that.

What Trump likes to do is to proclaim victory. He used his speech last year, just six weeks into his second term, to claim that he had already done more than all the other Presidents before him did, including George Washington. To Trump, he is always the greatest of all time at whatever it is that he is doing. A triumphant address is the default setting for this President, so that’s what we’re likely to hear this time, too. And, if you’re looking for a coherent theory of that case, well, don’t hold your breath.

Let’s also not forget that today is the fourth anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the odds are high that we will not hear any stirring rhetoric from Trump about the bravery and courage of our friends and partners there—a stark contrast with Joe Biden, who stood before Congress four years ago and vowed to stand with Ukraine for as long as it would take to win back the security and independence of their country.