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| What to Watch: Trump Gives His Presidency an ‘A’ So Far | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The State of the Union is … not happening this year, technically. But in a prime-time address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, President Trump is expected to deliver the equivalent: a speech designed to set the course for his near-term policy agenda and mollify concerns on Capitol Hill after his uneven first month. | The State of the Union is … not happening this year, technically. But in a prime-time address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, President Trump is expected to deliver the equivalent: a speech designed to set the course for his near-term policy agenda and mollify concerns on Capitol Hill after his uneven first month. |
| ■ Mr. Trump’s address is scheduled to begin shortly after 9 p.m. The New York Times will be providing live coverage. | ■ Mr. Trump’s address is scheduled to begin shortly after 9 p.m. The New York Times will be providing live coverage. |
| ■ The president tries to set the tone in an early morning interview on “Fox and Friends.” He gives himself a grade of A so far. | |
| ■ Steve Beshear, the former governor of Kentucky, will deliver the Democratic response, including a strong defense of the Affordable Care Act. | ■ Steve Beshear, the former governor of Kentucky, will deliver the Democratic response, including a strong defense of the Affordable Care Act. |
| Here is what to keep an eye on: | Here is what to keep an eye on: |
| President Trump gave himself a grade of A for his presidency so far in an interview broadcast on Tuesday morning but added that he would only give himself a C for communicating how great he has been. | |
| Appearing on “Fox and Friends,” which he has called one of his favorite shows, Mr. Trump blamed former President Barack Obama for organizing opposition against him, called the House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi “incompetent” and gently criticized his own press secretary for how he has handled leaks. | |
| The interview, shown just hours before Mr. Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress, set the stage for a day when he will have perhaps the biggest audience available to him for the rest of his first year in office. He highlighted his plans to increase military spending, tighten borders and replace Mr. Obama’s health care program, and he boasted that he has already brought back jobs to America. | |
| “I think I’ve done great things, but I don’t think I have — 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 in terms of what I’ve actually done, but in terms of messaging, I’d give myself a C or a C-plus.” | |
| He acknowledged that he does not have the support of a majority of Americans in polls but said those who do back him are more intense. “The love is great,” he said. “And I saw a poll where I was at 45 or 46 percent, but one of the things they said is that the level of enthusiasm for me is as strong as they’ve ever seen.” | |
| Mr. Trump rejected criticism by Ms. Pelosi, who said that for all the sound and fury, the president has not actually accomplished much in his first month in office. “I’ve been watching Nancy’s tape and so I think she’s incompetent, actually,” Mr. Trump said. | |
| Asked by the Fox hosts if he thinks Mr. Obama is responsible for some of the protests against his policies, Mr. Trump agreed but brushed it off. “I think he is behind it,” he said. “I also think it’s politics,” adding, “And look, I have a very thick skin.” | |
| Mr. Trump, who has railed against leaks, said some of them have probably come from holdovers from Mr. Obama’s administration. But he said his press secretary, Sean Spicer, was wrong to bring a group of staff members into his office and inspect their telephones in the presence of White House lawyers. | |
| “Sean Spicer is a fine human being; he’s a fine person,” Mr. Trump said. “I would have done it differently. I would have gone one-on-one with different people.” He added: “I would have handled it differently than Sean. But Sean handles it his way and I’m O.K. with it.” | |
| It is a complicated time to be a Republican in Congress. Long-promised plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act have hit roadblocks, despite the party’s control of the White House and both congressional chambers. Town hall-style events back home have drawn simmering fury from voters displeased with the administration’s early direction. | It is a complicated time to be a Republican in Congress. Long-promised plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act have hit roadblocks, despite the party’s control of the White House and both congressional chambers. Town hall-style events back home have drawn simmering fury from voters displeased with the administration’s early direction. |
| Now, lawmakers are looking to the speech as a moment for Mr. Trump to steady himself, and his allies, as they prepare to slog through a period of turning rhetoric into legislation. | Now, lawmakers are looking to the speech as a moment for Mr. Trump to steady himself, and his allies, as they prepare to slog through a period of turning rhetoric into legislation. |
| Tax reform? The border wall? Repealing the health care law? It is unlikely that the president will offer all the specifics that some members are seeking. But the administration’s broad budget outline this week did offer a preview: He is calling for sharp increases in military spending and drastic cuts to domestic agencies. | Tax reform? The border wall? Repealing the health care law? It is unlikely that the president will offer all the specifics that some members are seeking. But the administration’s broad budget outline this week did offer a preview: He is calling for sharp increases in military spending and drastic cuts to domestic agencies. |
| The annual congressional address tends to be a staid affair, shuttling assembled dignitaries through the classics: standing, sitting, partisan clapping and, always, an extended ovation after the president holds forth on America’s general excellence. (Mr. Trump’s speech, like other presidents’ initial addresses to Congress in recent decades, is not considered a formal State of the Union.) | The annual congressional address tends to be a staid affair, shuttling assembled dignitaries through the classics: standing, sitting, partisan clapping and, always, an extended ovation after the president holds forth on America’s general excellence. (Mr. Trump’s speech, like other presidents’ initial addresses to Congress in recent decades, is not considered a formal State of the Union.) |
| But Mr. Trump, as ever, may present wrinkles. As a candidate and as president, he has depicted America as being infested with crime and as a “mess” that needs cleaning. History might well remember his inaugural address as the “American carnage” speech. | But Mr. Trump, as ever, may present wrinkles. As a candidate and as president, he has depicted America as being infested with crime and as a “mess” that needs cleaning. History might well remember his inaugural address as the “American carnage” speech. |
| In a setting that typically compels presidents to extol the nation’s greatness, Mr. Trump could take a different tone on Tuesday. Or perhaps he will claim that, several weeks on, America has already been made great again. | In a setting that typically compels presidents to extol the nation’s greatness, Mr. Trump could take a different tone on Tuesday. Or perhaps he will claim that, several weeks on, America has already been made great again. |
| Based on the preview that his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, gave reporters on Monday, Mr. Trump is expected to hark back to his “law and order” theme by promising more aggressive federal policing of gun crimes, drugs and other areas in response to a rise in violent crime in some big cities. | |
| Crime is near historic lows nationwide and remains far below levels seen in the 1970s and 1980s. | Crime is near historic lows nationwide and remains far below levels seen in the 1970s and 1980s. |
| But Mr. Sessions, a former senator and prosecutor who was an important campaign adviser to Mr. Trump, told reporters he was worried that the increase in violence in some major cities, like Chicago and Baltimore, was “not a blip” and could signal “a longer-term trend.” Mr. Sessions is giving a speech of his own on that topic Tuesday morning to the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington. | But Mr. Sessions, a former senator and prosecutor who was an important campaign adviser to Mr. Trump, told reporters he was worried that the increase in violence in some major cities, like Chicago and Baltimore, was “not a blip” and could signal “a longer-term trend.” Mr. Sessions is giving a speech of his own on that topic Tuesday morning to the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington. |
| Mr. Sessions said he wanted to let local police officers know “that they’re being supported” in Washington, and suggested that morale was lagging in some departments because of a lack of federal leadership. | Mr. Sessions said he wanted to let local police officers know “that they’re being supported” in Washington, and suggested that morale was lagging in some departments because of a lack of federal leadership. |
| Muslims. Immigrants. A recent detainee. | Muslims. Immigrants. A recent detainee. |
| Officially, the Democratic rebuttal to Mr. Trump’s speech will come from Steve Beshear, the former governor of Kentucky, who will defend the Affordable Care Act. | Officially, the Democratic rebuttal to Mr. Trump’s speech will come from Steve Beshear, the former governor of Kentucky, who will defend the Affordable Care Act. |
| But inside the House chamber where Mr. Trump is speaking, Democrats plan to assemble a cadre of human symbols, bringing as guests several people imperiled by the president’s policies. Eschewing wide-scale boycotts of the speech — a feature of Mr. Trump’s inaugural address — members of Congress have used their invitations as another form of protest. | But inside the House chamber where Mr. Trump is speaking, Democrats plan to assemble a cadre of human symbols, bringing as guests several people imperiled by the president’s policies. Eschewing wide-scale boycotts of the speech — a feature of Mr. Trump’s inaugural address — members of Congress have used their invitations as another form of protest. |
| Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is bringing an Iraqi refugee who settled in the state in 2010 and is now an American citizen. Representative Nydia M. Velázquez of New York invited Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who worked as a translator for American forces in Iraq and was detained last month at Kennedy International Airport under the Trump administration’s travel ban. Other guests include undocumented immigrants who were protected from deportation under President Barack Obama, an Iranian graduate student, and the founder of the Syrian Community Network. | Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is bringing an Iraqi refugee who settled in the state in 2010 and is now an American citizen. Representative Nydia M. Velázquez of New York invited Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who worked as a translator for American forces in Iraq and was detained last month at Kennedy International Airport under the Trump administration’s travel ban. Other guests include undocumented immigrants who were protected from deportation under President Barack Obama, an Iranian graduate student, and the founder of the Syrian Community Network. |
| Mr. Trump’s campaign caused bipartisan headaches, pitting him against establishment forces in both parties. But so far, with his cabinet choices and executive orders, there have been few complaints from the right. | Mr. Trump’s campaign caused bipartisan headaches, pitting him against establishment forces in both parties. But so far, with his cabinet choices and executive orders, there have been few complaints from the right. |
| If Mr. Trump retains any interest in reaching out to Democrats — and if they remain a willing audience, an open question given the hostility toward the president from the progressive base — the speech would appear to supply an opportunity. Some Democrats say they are still interested in working with the president on an infrastructure plan, though it is far from clear what such a proposal might look like. | If Mr. Trump retains any interest in reaching out to Democrats — and if they remain a willing audience, an open question given the hostility toward the president from the progressive base — the speech would appear to supply an opportunity. Some Democrats say they are still interested in working with the president on an infrastructure plan, though it is far from clear what such a proposal might look like. |
| In a “prebuttal” on Monday, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, suggested he was unlikely to be impressed. “Tomorrow night, if past is prologue, the president will use populist rhetoric in his speech,” Mr. Schumer said, “but he won’t back it up with real actions.” | In a “prebuttal” on Monday, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, suggested he was unlikely to be impressed. “Tomorrow night, if past is prologue, the president will use populist rhetoric in his speech,” Mr. Schumer said, “but he won’t back it up with real actions.” |