In his first weeks back in office, President Trump signed scores of executive orders, made stunning and controversial policy announcements, and dominated the country’s politics and media. On Tuesday, addressing a joint session of Congress, Trump boasted of his accomplishments, outlined a few priorities, and criticized Democrats. The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School brought together five of its former and current fellows to analyze Trump’s speech. Brittany Shepherd, national political reporter for ABC News, moderated a discussion with Mike Donilon, former senior advisor to President Biden; Brendan Buck, a political communications strategist who served the last two Republican House Speakers; Jonathan Martin, political bureau chief and columnist for Politico; and Dan Balz, The Washington Post’s chief correspondent. Here are excerpts, lightly edited for clarity.
"There's no better showman in the country"
“I was just struck mostly by the indulgence of Trump and not just the length but how much he wanted to make it about his pet issues instead of what the voters actually elected him on. … I don't think you heard the word ‘egg’ until 45 minutes in.”
“Trump focuses on Trump and not what the voters actually are most interested in, which is the cost of goods, an issue potentially being made worse by his actions rather than his rhetoric.”
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Jonathan Martin, politics bureau chief and senior political columnist for Politico.and Fall 2023 Institute of Politics Resident Fellow
“He's quite straightforward. He does not hide the ball. And what he talked about last night, that's what he intends to do as president. I think it's a great opening for the Democratic Party. I think it's going to be real eye-opening for the country.”
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Mike Donilon, former senior advisor to President Biden & Spring 2025 Institute of Politics Resident Fellow
“The state of the union has deteriorated from a big moment to lay out a lot of policy to a show, and there's no better showman in the country or certainly in American politics than Donald Trump. … And frankly I think Democrats struggle to accept that that's what this moment has turned into.”
“The other thing that I looked at last night was the degree to which this is a forgettable moment. The impact of a State of the Union or a Joint Sessions speech to Congress is minimal.”
“Last night was performative. As he goes forward he's going to have to be somebody who delivers.”
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Dan Balz, chief correspondent for The Washington Post & Institute of Politics Senior Fellow
“I think it was a snapshot into what this Republican ecosystem is right now. This was a really … self-indulgent speech. You usually want to make sure that you start off the remarks focusing on the top issue because that's when most people are paying attention, people go to bed, eventually make sure you get in what's important. And he spent a lot of that time just recounting his wins.”
“I think that the question is, does that really convince people who are outside of that bubble … there's a lot of stuff going on in the real world that doesn't feel like everything is great or that he's solved a lot of problems already. I don't know that anybody feels better that the Gulf of Mexico is now called the Gulf of America.”
“The thing to appreciate is, everybody in the Republican Party needs to play in this sandbox of issues that Trump cares about and there's really no room to get out of that.”
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Brendan Buck, communications strategist and political analyst for the last two House Republican Speakers & Spring 2022 Institute of Politics Resident Fellow
"This is one of the least ambitious legislative agendas I can ever remember from a president"
“If it wasn't clear already, this is his party. … But that's the challenge with Trump. He lives with his base. He never wants to leave the cul-de-sac of his political base and has never made any attempt to do so and was basically rewarded for it by winning last year. ... The crucial but smaller group of people who are more uncertain about their political allegiances who do tend to swing voted for him because they're paying too much for gas and at the grocery store, and those folks heard very little last night because that doesn't animate Trump.”
“He enjoys himself up there but is he doing anything to help his party? And the answer is he's not, and we've seen the movie before. We all lived through it. He wins in 2016, and then from 2017 through 2020 you have a period of a three-year backlash effectively against Trump, his conduct, and his policies, and Democrats reap the benefit. The only question now is, are Democrats so weakened? Is their brand so rotten that they can't reap the benefits like they did?”
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Jonathan Martin, politics bureau chief and senior political columnist for Politico and Fall 2023 Institute of Politics Resident Fellow
“There is going to be a big debate in this country about Medicaid. … Republicans are in a box because Trump has said you cannot touch Social Security. … It's a really critical healthcare plan for a lot of hardworking folks. And I think they're going to go after it.”
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Mike Donilon, former senior advisor to President Biden & Spring 2025 Institute of Politics Resident Fellow
“Whoever is the out party at a joint session speech is in a terrible position. If you sit on your hands, your base is irritated and angry, and if you stand up and protest all the time it begins to look a little foolish and it's as performative as what the other side is doing, jumping up and cheering.”
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Dan Balz, chief correspondent for The Washington Post & Institute of Politics Senior Fellow
“The minority party, whichever it is, just needs to stop this idea that this is the venue to fight back. It's just not. … The deck is just stacked in favor of the president—the setting, the visuals. You just look silly, and this is not the place to have your resistance.”
“He has so little care for what Congress does. … This is one of the least ambitious legislative agendas I can ever remember from a president, and it's funny because we talk about Trump in these grand terms and all these big things that he wants to do. … The primary thing that Donald Trump is asking Congress to do is to keep tax rates where they currently are. That's the big one.”
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Brendan Buck, communications strategist and political analyst for the last two House Republican Speakers & Spring 2022 Institute of Politics Resident Fellow