Trump's address to Congress shows he's finally figuring out how to be the president

This is what learning on the job looks like

President Trump speaks to the joint session of Congress
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Donald Trump gave his best-ever political speech before Congress last night.

Let's stipulate that this was a low threshold to clear, lowered even more by the impression given over the last several weeks that his presidency was failing upon launch. Trump is a natural bar booth talker not made for the podium, and yet somehow, the pace of applause and the rat-a-tat style crafted by his speechwriters made Trump into a more competent and savvy version of himself.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.