"He was clearly working from a prepared text, but it sounded like one he had written-or dictated angrily-himself, because it was full of bizarre howlers that even Trump's second-rate speech-writing shop would probably have avoided, such as his assertion that inflation when he took office was the worst it had been in 48 years. (Why did he pick 1977 as a benchmark? Who knows. But he's wrong.)"
"We could take apart Trump's fake facts, as checkers and pundits will do in the next few days. But perhaps more important than false statements-which for Trump are par for the course-was his demeanor. Americans saw a president drenched in pure panic as he tried to bully an entire nation into admitting that he's doing a great job. For 20 minutes, he vented his hurt feelings without a molecule of empathy or awareness."
"In effect, Trump took to the airwaves, pointed his finger, and said: Quiet, piggy. I consider myself a connoisseur of Trump's speeches. I've watched them and live-tweeted them for years because I think Americans need to see what kind of man sits in the Oval Office. But even by Trump's standards, this was an unnerving display of fear. I could only imagine America's enemies in Moscow and Beijing and Tehran smiling with pleasure"
President Trump interrupted prime-time television with an unusually angry, error-filled address that resembled a self-written, indignant rant. He made demonstrably false claims, including a mistaken inflation benchmark, and read quickly with rising frustration while repeatedly asserting untrue statements. His demeanor conveyed panic and an attempt to browbeat the public into accepting his record, shutting down economic and foreign-policy concerns and shifting blame to political opponents. The address showed no empathy for listeners and instead vented personal grievances. Observers perceived the performance as unnerving, suggesting that adversaries abroad might welcome signs of presidential instability.
Read at The Atlantic
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