By US correspondent Mark Stone
A very notable presidential address, not for what he announced because there was no big reveal, no breaking news. It was the tone which fascinated me.
The 9pm live address was his framing of his greatest hits from the past year, but delivered by an angry and frustrated man.
“Why are my polling numbers not better?” was the vibe he gave off.
“Why is the economy not doing better? Why are you – the voters – not feeling better off?” Not quotes but the clear subtext.
It is his low polling, rising unemployment, the cost of living and inflation challenges which prompted this address.
Had he come out and, off script, with empathy, said: “Look, I get it. It’s taking time for you to feel my economic success….” If he’d said all that with meaning, I think that would have landed in a more sympathetic way.
Instead, reading, unusually, off a script, he came across as a very frustrated president and extremely defensive.
Here’s the worry for Team Trump. So often out and about with voters, I hear people say: “Oh I don’t really like his style, his language, his divisiveness. But he’s a businessman. He knows how to run the country and the economy.”
If he loses those people, he’s in real trouble.
That’s especially true when combined with suggestions he is losing some in his base too – just listen to his fan-turned-foe, MAGA stalwart, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
One last thought. There are observers who think Trump is kind of unhinged, losing his marbles a bit. The slightly strange tone of this speech will be evidence for them, for sure.
Watch Stone’s full analysis below:
