Most things have been said about President Donald J. Trump in his life. After Tuesday's comeback speech and his first six weeks of office, it's time to add “historical orator.”
The seeds were always there, but it wasn't always like this. I first met the future president at Hanover Street Chophouse on a cold New Hampshire night in 2016. I've heard a lot about the man and saw a lot. He has been a real American celebrity for decades – businessman and developer, author, and game show host.
You will see a great politician again in your life, but you will never see a man like Trump.
What he hadn't achieved perfectly was the “politicians” and the DC Press Corps was sure he couldn't do it.
“He's Zimaphobe!” They wept. “Do you think Donald J. Trump will kiss the baby and connect with a normal person?” they asked. I wasn't sure their skepticism would endure it. Watching him speak early in a small town north of Des Moines, Iowa, he strolled into the high school gymnasium in Brioni suits and a red truck driver hat, hugged by a bunch of men in Vietnam's war t-shirts and leather jackets, and heard New York with family and friends.
I have seen politicians dress up before: suits in front of middle class. Lose the tie and roll up the sleeves with the workers. Replace your jacket with a preppy campaign vest on the golf course. Trump did nothing to do that – ever. He was his real self, and even that day, when he was tired, he was his real self.
We met up close in Manchester in 2016. He took a photo with the little kids, telling one punch happy boy to smack his brother and smile for mom's camera. By the time he walked to our table he was full of stories from the discussion the night before. “I was worried about him!” he laughed about the politician who had not benefited himself. “I asked, 'Is he okay?”
The next morning, we are frothed into the next event, with Republican candidates swinging for an interview with “Fox & Friends” and handing out some mandatory handshakes.
Gov. Jeb Bush collapsed at the counter as we entered, like a picture of depression. Gov. Chris Christie was in and out of all the businesses. It's not Trump. By the time he sat for the show he knew the kitchen staff by name. He ordered pancakes during the broadcast and asked anyone voting for cooks (“America!” she cried, snuggling that he wouldn't have asked if he hadn't known her answer yet. An hour later he was still in the diner, eating pancakes and holding a coat.
Here I thought he was a politician that our media didn't understand.
Before he took the oath of office, Trump was a proven master of stump speeches. In fact, he never gave it. Remember: Politicians must give speeches on the campaign trail, giving the same thing over and over again every day. It's not Trump. He was full of surprises, which is why reporters have everything about them.
Before he took the oath, Trump was a proven master of comedy. From late-night shows to variety shows, he could read the rooms, tease himself (another DC myth has been proven wrong), and even plucked laughs from his enemies from time to time.
The day he took the oath of office in 2017, I was back from my balcony into the queue. This will now become President Donald Trump. How does he play? The speech “The American Massacre” is famous – and for good reason. It painted a dark picture of where we were as a country. Our elite had sold us out and now they were lined up with him. The dark prophecy was prophetic. We still didn't know how far they were going.
Over the next four years, he took slings and arrows from every corner of the globe. From the world leaders and his own party here in Washington. From professional sports and Hollywood. From our corporate media and the American intelligence agency.
Through it he matured. His 2019 speech in Normandy was historic. He laid out a vision for the Western world as well as the United States. His speech reminded us of the presidents we've seen in the past, from Ronald Reagan to John F. Kennedy and even Abraham Lincoln. He understood where we were struggling and where we needed to go.
Throughout his first term he struggled too. Even his tattooed biker investment fans whisper to the trajectory of the campaign. “Do you think he can tone down tweets?” (hysterical as they do). They wanted people who not only spoke to their hopes and fears, but also acted in the hopes of the president as they expected him to act. Trump was not always fit.
But that's not the Trump we saw this second semester. It has been five years since our last speech to the Congressional Joint Session. He brought the grown man to tears with the adult Rush Limbaugh, a migrated tribute to legendary radio waves. The whole world changed that night. Covid hadn't happened yet. The massive land wars in Europe remained a distant memory. Things felt good here, the economy hummed, Trump was a fighting politician fighting against the bluff each. Five years later, on the same podium, we see real politicians.
For the founding editor of Politico, dubbed “the greatest American figure of his time,” it is difficult to describe the journey of a man's global elite who was dismissed as an embarrassing abnormality. When he resumed his appointment, he returned the iconic leader, not just a deeply trusted and respected leader. In his second appointment, he seemed to have a deeper understanding of the weight of his mission (and his opposing nature).
His second appointment was bold and vast. He painted a bright picture of the Golden Age, far from his first darkness. The men and women who stood against him were now standing by his side. Others sat quietly while he just listed their mistakes at his feet.
On Tuesday night, he was not embarrassed by the same criticism and was not the enemy of the Democrats. For the first time in modern history, sergeant was forced to restore order by removing septal members who had confused addresses like teenage protesters.
Trump still showed fire in his belly, but he was not caustic and not abrasive. He achieved his achievements, but stood in contrast to his opposition. Who does he see as president now?
He also blends in with humor. He unscripted. He teases his childish, firing enemies and lifts up his cheering allies. He drifted seamlessly into stand-up from grandeur. He added a whole new move to the president's address bag and signed an executive order on the podium. He created a little boy who fights brain cancer named DJ Daniel, who dreamed of being a police officer, an honorary agent for the Secret Service. He freed the Americans from Russian prison camps.
Beyond politics, he was the man he met on a snowy night in New Hampshire nine years ago, and the man has changed deeply. He was a man who showed a true understanding of America, life and freedom principles, but also rooted in the vulnerability of mortality and the important sex of the movement that has accumulated around him.
He is our orator. enjoy it. You will see a great politician again in your life, but you will never see a man like Trump.
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