President Donald Trump claimed that his administration has already delivered on some of his campaign promises. | AP Photo Trump: 'I would give myself a C or a C+' on messaging But he gives himself an A for achievement.

Asked how he would grade his administration through its first four-plus weeks, President Donald Trump said he would give himself an A for effort and achievement, but just a C or a C+ on his ability to communicate his successes to the American people.

“I think in terms of effort, which means something, but I give myself an A+, okay? Effort. But that's, you know, results are more important. In terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C+,” Trump told Fox News’s “Fox & Friends” in an interview that was taped Monday afternoon and aired Tuesday morning.


The president claimed that his administration has already delivered on some of his campaign promises, including saving money on military contracts and luring companies into creating jobs in the U.S., despite a seemingly constant stream of negative press. He told the panel of “Fox & Friends” hosts that “I've done just about more than anybody in the first four weeks.”

But in a rare moment of self-criticism, Trump admitted that “my messaging isn’t good,” using press reports regarding vacant executive branch jobs as an example. Trump said those stories often portray him as being behind in appointing people for such jobs when in reality, he has no intention of filling them at all because he sees them as unnecessary.

The president also acknowledged that protests against him have continued, spurred by his controversial executive orders on immigration. He blamed the protests at least in part on leftover hurt feelings from last year’s presidential election, but said he intends to bring the country together. “The way you do that is through success,” he said, promising to boost jobs and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Trump will address a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, an opportunity, he said, to turn around his administration’s messaging struggles thus far.

“In terms of achievement, I think I'd give myself an A. Because I think I've done great things,” Trump said. “I and my people, I don't think we've explained it well enough to the American public. I think I get an A in terms of what I've actually done, but in terms of messaging, I'd give myself a C or a C+.”