Trump Ditches 'The Weave', Delivers Sales Pitch Susie Wiles Asked For

Trump Ditches 'The Weave', Delivers Sales Pitch Susie Wiles Asked For Authored by Philip Wegmann via The RealClearPolitics , White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles directed President Trump to the teleprompter to deliver specific and scripted remarks in prime-time - rather than the off-the-cuff kind he favors on the stump - about affordability, the accomplishments of his first term, and the challenges ahead. He delivered a rally speech in miniature Wednesday night, minus only his signature “weave.” Said the president of the myriad of problems facing the nation from high prices and lingering inflation to rising rents and unaffordable healthcare, “It’s not the Republicans’ fault - it’s the Democrats’ fault.” That was the throughline of the entire message. And it is one his party was desperate for him to deliver as they anxiously await the midterm elections next year. While Trump provide little that was new in terms of policy, the president did change his tone. He admitted that problems persist for everyday Americans despite his best efforts. “ Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, ” he said of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, then immediately added “and I am fixing it.” A long list of accomplishments followed. Among them: Wages are up, inflation down, and the border sealed. Like a chairman of a corporate board delivering an end-of-year report, he ran through a list of promises made on the campaign and promises kept once returned to the White House. “We’re doing what nobody thought was even possible, not even remotely possible. There has never, frankly, been anything like it,” he said, repeating a popular line from his rallies. “ One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead. Our country was ready to fail - totally failed. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. ” The president relishes the role of a cheerleader. It has led to blind spots, however, as his long-promised “Golden Age” has yet to trickle down to lower and middleclass tables. Yes, he succeeded in getting many of his marquee domestic policy priorities, encapsulated in the One Big Beautiful Bill, into law. No, the public is still not feeling it despite his insistence on an American renaissance. So say the polls. Trump remains underwater with more Americans now disapproving, 53.8%, than approving, 43.6%, of his job performance. More worrisome for the White House, according to the RealClearPolitics Average, a majority of the country, 62.8%, disapprove of how Trump has handled inflation even as inflation has mostly stabilized one year into his second stint as president. Inflation dropped to just 2.8% over the past year compared to its peak under Biden at 9%. Wages have increased as well, and some prices, like the cost of a gallon of gas or a dozen eggs, have come down. Despite those changes, Trump found himself in a position similar to that of Biden when he insisted that the economy remained healthy even as the public did not feel the improvement. And like the...

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