The Scoop: America responds to Trump’s address to the nation

President Donald Trump addressed Congress and the American people on Tuesday in a marathon speech that presented a partisan view of the state of the United States at the start of his second term.

Trump delivered a nearly hour-and-40-minute combative speech, covering hot-button topics such as immigration, transgender rights and diversity initiatives. Trump took a softer tone on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy than in recent days, reading a letter from him advocating for peace talks.

Despite struggles in Wall Street from tariffs, Trump stood by his policies as part of his “make America rich again” agenda.

Trump’s speech also criticized Democrats, calling former President Joe Biden the worst president in history and blaming him for issues like high egg prices.

Republicans cheered his remarks, while Democrats largely remained silent or protested. Speaker Mike Johnson ordered Rep. Al Green’s removal after he shouted at Trump..

In the Democratic response, Sen. Elissa Slotkin took a calmer, more straightforward approach in her 10-minute rebuttal of the president’s claims. While she did harshly criticize Trump for his “reckless” policies, she also used her platform to call upon the American to stay committed to making change in a “responsible way.”

Christian Paz of Vox criticized Slotkin’s speech and comments from figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as “splintered.” He described Slotkin as urging Democrats to stay patient and to hold their representatives accountable at the ballot box, while Ocasio-Cortez and others used social media to call for more confrontation.

“With a lack of purpose and unity from messengers, it isn’t clear that their larger point about Trump will break through just yet,” Paz said.

Why it matters: Tuesday night represented an opportunity for both Republicans and Democrats to paint a clear picture of their view of the direction of the United States under the Trump administration.

And, to a degree, both were successful in doing their job.

In a story highlighting the reaction of six Americans, the New York Times wrote that for “many reluctant Trump voters, there was a mixture of confidence, anxiety, hope and frustration — along with some anger directed at Congressional Democrats” following the speech.

A post-speech CNN poll largely echoed those sentiments, showing that an audience skewed 14 percentage points toward Republicans responded to Trump’s comments with tempered positivity.

About 70% of viewers reacted somewhat positively, with 44% offering a very positive response, the poll found, which is lower than his address in 2017, per CNN. However, confidence in Trump’s leadership and ability to use presidential power responsibly was mixed, with just 4 in 10 expressing high confidence in his ability to help people like them.

While the speech didn’t significantly shift public opinion, it reinforced existing positive views among his supporters, with 66% believing his policies would take the country in the right direction, per the CNN poll.

“I came to America for the land of opportunity, The way (Trump) said the American dream is alive, and coming back, that’s a message of hope,” said Hamid Chaudhry, a business owner, who voted for Trump last year, told the Times.

But not everyone felt that way. Isaiah Thompson, 22, from Washington, D.C., for instance, told the Times the divisive nature of the speech reflected the current state of the country.

“This was supposed to be a speech about how he was making America great again, but he was throwing out insults,” he said.

“It remains to be seen whether this conversation will move voters in next year’s mid-term elections. Trump’s administration and his policies are still in motion, and ultimately finances will likely do much of the talking at the polls.

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Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.