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Dan McLaughlin in National Review:

“Many Republicans, like me, who are not comfortable with Trump would have been a lot easier to convert if the Trump of tonight’s speech was the everyday Trump.”

Mr. McLaughlin found Mr. Trump’s use of his guest’s inspirational stories during the speech to be a sign of “weakness,” though the stories themselves were powerful reminders of “what a perilous world we still live in.” Overall, however, Mr. McLaughlin, a Trump skeptic on the right, was pleased to see the Republican president promote the benefits of tax cuts, solidarity with Iranian protesters and the need for compromise over immigration. Read more »

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The editors at The Washington Examiner:

“‘The state of the union is strong’ is a perfectly fine cliché for presidents, but the idea of strength has extra meaning today.”

The editors at The Washington Examiner heard the president deliver an argument for a strong America. Strength, in their understanding, is less about power and more about resilience. They found the theme “cheering” and “uplifting” and, importantly, “a break from his invocation of strength in authoritarian ways.” Read more »

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Ramesh Ponnuru in Bloomberg:



“It was unlike the addresses of most presidents in its nearly total refusal to lay out any ideas for the future.”

Presidents tend to use State of the Union addresses to accomplish a few goals, Mr. Ponnuru writes. Apart from garnering good reviews and shoring up popularity, historically, presidents have used the opportunity to lay out policy priorities and “lay the groundwork for future legislative proposals.” In this, Mr. Ponnuru explains, Mr. Trump failed, with one very notable exception. On immigration, the president “outlined an extremely ambitious agenda with enough detail to make for a useful debate.” Read more »

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From the Left