Krauthammer on Joint Session Address: ‘Without a Doubt’ Trump’s Best Speech

Tuesday after President Donald Trump gave an address to a joint session of Congress, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer offered his analysis of the speech, to which he gave high marks.

Krauthammer called it “without a doubt” Trump’s best speech to date and added that it could define his presidency if he is able to live up to that speech.

“This is without a doubt the best speech he ever gave,” Krauthammer said. “In fact, this should have been his inaugural address. And it would have actually had an effect on the launch of his presidency and vastly reduced the hysteria that has emerged in the country on the left from the disappointed Democrats in reaction to this president. The inaugural address was a speech about carnage in America. It was dark. It also presented an ideology that was pretty radical. It did it pretty honestly but in a way that it scared a lot of people. And what this was — this was a version of Trumpism, but done in a sober way, in a way that was that I think very deliberately made to be not offensive.” 

“You know, the negativity — the attacks on the press, on his opponent, on Hillary on all these things he has been doing for a month all disappeared and what was left was a very statesmanlike speech, straightforward about what he wanted to do, what he wants to do it, and he put all of the things in terms that were sort of acceptable, radical, almost mainstream. For instance, you know, NATO. He came right out and said we believe in NATO. He added that everybody has the chip in, but it was not done in a dark or accusatory way. So, if he can — if this is the presidency of Trump, I think he will succeed. If this is an aberration, just a job performance, he will not. But this is the standard that I think he is now set for himself. As an American, I hope he lives up to it.” 

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