I got goosebumps at several points in President Trump's address to Congress on Monday night. It was direct, strategic and inspiring, and I noticed three overarching themes as I listened:
1. The renewal of the American spirit. Too many of us are tired of being lectured to while the Democrats shift the subject and name-call. They want a strong American in which we can dream big. That's the America Trump portrayed for us last night. Democrats clearly showed last night that they're still suck in anger and bitterness, but I received several texts from friends and colleagues last night about how optimistic the speech was - and how positive the tone from the top was. That had people inspired.
2. Restarting our economy. Trump didn't get into all the specifics of his plan, but he did talk about bringing a tax cut to the middle class, which is a cornerstone of the effort to restart the economy. So is the repeal and replacement of ObamaCare. The Democrats keep trying to convince themselves and everyone else that this isn't really going to happen, but the president set forth guidance last night for how it can be done.
3. Protectiveness. The president used the word "protect" a lot, whether he was talking about protecting our borders or protecting our people from terrorism, he made it clear he intends to look out for the best interests of the United States and its people - and not to subjugate the interests of our nation to the desires of the rest of the world. That's a welcome change, isn't it?
Not everyone likes all the directions he is setting, but for some of those who don't, you have to look at whether there is really any substance to their arguments - especially when they shriek about people losing their health insurance.
Last week a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee shared with me that of the 20 million people who "got covered" via ObamaCare, 16 million were simply forced onto Medicaid. So when you hear that people will "lose their health care," understand how absurd that claim really is.
It was a great speech, and if you missed it, here you go:
We haven't heard a president talk like this, well . . . ever. That unsettles some people, but this nation has taken upon itself some very big problems by doing things the same way for these past many decades. We desperately needed a very different kind of president, and boy did we ever get him.
