This acoustic version of Mr. Trump did not come across warmer, except in moments of exchange with heroes and grieving parents in the audience. Mr. Trump was a TV performer for years, but he is not, like Ronald Reagan, an actor. Last year, when Mr. Trump addressed a joint session of Congress and stuck to his script, he was hailed by analysts as finally having become presidential. VideoBut if the State of the Union cannot be taken as a reliable guide as to who Mr. Trump is, it is a useful guide to how he wants to be seen. Some of those may eventually be issued by the president’s less low-key self, tweeting as he watches “Fox & Friends.”But this speech is who Mr. Trump is on paper — or on the prompter screen — until his next episode.

Source: New York Times January 31, 2018 04:26 UTC