President Trump is blaming the controversy that has plagued his first month in office on mediocre messaging — and not his policies or proposals themselves.

Asked on “Fox and Friends” how he would grade his presidency, Trump said he would give himself a “A” for effort and achievement but only a “C or C-plus” for his ability to communicate his successes to public.

“I think in terms of, um, effort which means something, but I give myself an A-plus, OK? Effort,” Trump said. “But results are more important. In terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C-plus.”

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It’s a rare public concession from Trump, who isn’t known to admit fault, that not everything in his first weeks in office has gone according to plan.

Trump pointed to stories showing that there are still hundreds of key vacancies in the White House and Cabinet agencies, which make it seem like he is slow to hire people. He said in many cases jobs are being left unfilled in order to shrink the size of government.

“I think I’ve done great things. I don’t think I’ve — I and my people — I don’t think we’ve explained it well enough to the American public,” he said. “I think I get an A.”

While Trump has cast himself as a different kind of commander in chief, blaming messaging is a time-honored White House tradition.

President Obama said the political unpopularity of his healthcare law, stimulus bill and other proposals stemmed from his team’s inability to explain them properly.

“Part of the job description is also shaping public opinion,” Obama said in an interview last month with CBS News. “And there were times during my presidency where I lost the PR battle.”