Big and bold, optimistic and compassionate. President Trump’s Oval Office address was exactly what America needed to hear

This is what it looks like when a president rises up to meet a crisis head-on.

With fear and panic spreading across the land and threatening to take down the economy, Trump is facing the greatest test of his presidency. Although battle-hardened by brutal fights with Democrats, the biased media and foreign adversaries, he is presented with problems of a different magnitude with the coronavirus.

It is a global menace that has declared war on America. Truth be told, sometimes in recent weeks, the president has appeared to be a reluctant commander-in-chief.

Thankfully, as of Wednesday night, that reluctance is history, replaced by a president who left no doubt that he is all in on the battle against this deadly scourge. Now effectively a wartime president, Trump’s repeated assurances of victory were music to the ears of a rattled nation.

His willingness to change course and step up his game reflects an understanding that this is a critical moment both for the country and his presidency. “History has proven time and time again, Americans always rise to the challenge and overcome adversity,” he said at one point, as if to underscore that he accepts the seriousness of the stakes at hand.

The haters will never admit it, but Trump’s ability to meet the moment now is a reminder about why he was elected and how he has managed to guide the great American jobs machine to unprecedented heights. The only mystery is why supposedly intelligent people on the left refuse to acknowledge that millions of their fellow citizens are better off now than they were four years ago.

That issue will be decided in November, but for now, the entire country should be united in the campaign against this silent enemy. To that end, the speech succeeded because it included specific actions that would help halt the spread of the coronavirus and pledges of aid to individuals and companies that are suffering.

The travel ban from Europe for 30 days is certainly the strongest medicine, but the spread of the disease there, especially in Italy, is a warning about what could happen here. It would be irresponsible to take the chance, so shutting the doors is prudent.

Remember, Trump was right in January to stop most Chinese nationals from entering the US, a fact that many of his critics still can’t accept. They are still wrong.

The president also had to play comforter-in-chief, and he did that by outlining small-business loans and other measures, some of which were vague and need to be worked out in the coming days. And he didn’t skip the practical details, reminding people to wash their hands. That may be a first for an Oval Office speech.

But the most important challenge was giving the American people confidence in his leadership and demonstrating his determination to lead the nation to the other side. His calls for unity and bipartisanship were part of that promise, but let’s face it, the odds of that happening are slim to none.

There is so much bad blood in Washington and the leading Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, further poisoned the well by attacking Trump mercilessly on his initial handling of the coronavirus. Right out of the gate, they sounded as if they wanted to impeach him again instead of helping him find solutions.

So they, too, now face a crisis of their leadership. Will they help fight this killer disease and try to calm the nation? Or will they continue to abdicate their governing responsibilities and put their partisan interests ahead of the nation’s well-being?

Whatever they decide, America now knows it has a president committed to victory. That’s what matters most.