Trump Tells Republicans: ‘We Have To Deliver’

For all my misgivings and doubts about Donald Trump during the campaign (and they were many, I don’t mind saying), he’s been remarkably forthright and reasonable since November. Even moreso now that he’s officially president. He’s shown that he’s the type of guy who realizes who got him where he is, why he’s in office, and what his obligation is to the people.

It’s been so long that I forgot what it was like to have a president who put the people first, rather than people putting the president first.

That was evident in Trump’s Inaugural Address, where the theme of the speech was giving power back to the people. The most used pronoun in Trump’s speech was “we.” He might have used “I” three times, at most.

And you could say “Well, sure – that was the Inaugural. Tons of people were watching one speech. He had to say those things. But is any of that going to carry over into Trump’s presidency?”

Well… going by this short speech during the Congressional Republican Retreat in Philadelphia where President Trump was asked to speak, it sure seems like it –

[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/k437yFK8i9s”]

Call me the eternal pessimist (I’ve been side-eyeing Republicans for being spineless for years now – old habits are hard to break) – I’m still waiting for all these good things to happen when they actually, you know, happen. But I will say this – having a president reminding Congress (and, by extension, himself) that the people are the priority, and not Washington bureaucrats, is refreshing. Hearing the president urge Congress to deliver on their promises – I want to believe that it’s all going to happen. True, I feel more hopeful this go-round than I did at ANY point during the previous administration.

Cautious optimism. That’s what this is. But given what we all just endured for eight years, I will GLADLY take it.

(h/t Weasel Zippers)