A reader asked me to explain a B+ rating I gave to Trump’s speech. What’s the best way to grade a political speech?
State of the Union
I gave Biden a solid A for his State of the Union Address. However, I did not agree with a single thing he said, at least that I recall.
Q: Why an A?
A: Biden delivered it much better than I or anyone else should have expected. He got the message across, and likely gained votes from it (since then lost).
If you tuned into Fox, you probably thought it was an F.
The Debate
I gave Trump a B for the debate despite countless ridiculous statements by Trump. But his delivery was good, he refrained from making silly faces. Compared to expectations what it might have been, it was likely as good as what could have reasonably been expected. Trump is and remains Trump.
I gave Biden an F—. Biden was so bad that MSNBC had a meltdown. That’s when you knew it was all over.
Grade School Reflections
I had a 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Schingle, who hated to give anyone an F.
Mrs. Schingle was decades ahead of her time, but not to the same degree as now.
She handed out D— and D— scores on tests. I got one of those D— grades (with really big minus signs) on a test I did not study for. It’s forever etched in my memory.
Grading Trump’s Acceptance Speech
How do we grade this? Is it on an absolute scale or a Trumpian expectations scale? A bit of both? Something else entirely?
In retrospect, I would take away the + and make it a B.
There were a lot of good moments. “Wisconsin, I’m trying to buy your vote” was a great line. Trump also had some moving moments.
However, he could not contain himself. I cringed over “Drill Baby Drill”. That message appeals only to people already solidly in his camp. In isolation, that moment will cost Trump votes. I also cringed over discussion of Democrats cheating. That too will cost votes.
Trump had a good finish. Did anyone stay up long enough to hear it?
I have some final thoughts below. First but let’s tune into a Wall Street Journal take this morning.
Trump Meets Half the Moment in His RNC Speech
Please consider Trump Meets Half the Moment in His RNC Speech
Republicans in Milwaukee put on a first-rate and unified show this week, and the question for Donald Trump was whether he could cap it off with a speech that would broaden his political appeal. He met the moment for about 30 minutes before devolving into a rambling stump speech that probably had many Americans heading for bed.
The former President had the audience rapt as he recounted his near-assassination on Saturday in Butler, Pa. This was a subdued, even somber Donald Trump that Americans rarely see. He struck notes of national unity and optimism. He said his campaign is rooted in “confidence, strength and hope.”
Mr. Trump seemed genuinely grateful to the Secret Service and for the bravery of the crowd in Butler that didn’t panic even after the shots were fired. His tribute to Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was killed by the shooter, was moving.
“Our society must be healed,” Mr. Trump said. He gave the impression that perhaps the shooting might really cause him to approach a second term differently than he did the first. This is a Donald Trump who would have won re-election in 2020.
But Mr. Trump can’t help himself, and before too long he was on a discursive tour of his greatest first-term hits and whatever seemed to pop into his head.
He couldn’t resist complaining that Democrats “cheat” in elections and cost him the election in 2020, as well as indulging his grievances over the court cases against him.
Mr. Trump’s great advantage over Mr. Biden is that he projects strength, and he did so with a pledge to gain the release of Americans held hostage. “I tell you this, we want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office or you will be paying a very big price,” he said. That’s more forceful than anything Mr. Biden has said in four years.
We could go on, but you may have heard most of this speech before. His tone was calmer and less partisan than usual. But the speech would have been more effective had he cut it in half.
The GOP convention gave Mr. Trump a lift by making a strong critique of the Biden Administration’s record. But we doubt the former President closed the deal on Thursday by reminding the country at great length that he is still Donald Trump.
Is “Half the Moment” a C, B, or D?
The WSJ heard what I heard.
I am willing to take away the + but that might not be correct.
When it comes to assigning a grade, here is the correct question, and no one knows the answer.
On Balance, Did Trump Win or Lose Independents?
To properly grade the speech, one needs to do so in terms two key questions: 1) Did Trump win or lose votes from the speech and 2) Was it good enough in terms of what Trump needed to do?
How did Trump do? Start here: “Mr. Trump’s great advantage over Mr. Biden is that he projects strength, and he did so with a pledge to gain the release of Americans held hostage,” said the WSJ.
That projection of strength was clear through most of his speech.
Was it enough to overcome the cringe moments? My conclusion was yes. But I could be wrong.
If Trump lost a few votes then assign a C simply because he can afford to lose a few. If Trump lost a lot of votes (but I strongly doubt that) it could be a D—. Thank you Mrs. Schingle.
If Trump gained a lot of votes, then B+ could be right. But since the speech could have been much better, so in no way does does his speech deserve an A.
Trump gained simply by projecting strength, but nowhere close to what he could have done. Second, Trump did everything he needed to do and the convention went well despite a few circus moments.
Call it a B and take away the +.
Biden Expected to Drop Out this Weekend
That’s the take of Axios and Newsmax, with the Wall Street Journal strongly hinting at that outcome.
For discussion, please see Biden Expected to Drop Out this Weekend, Not Endorse Kamala
Most of this is based on private conversations of Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
If it’s not this weekend, then it will be later. Biden won’t survive this.
bring back the jobs and goods that China took (took? ya right )
Made in China is a done deal We (Usa) have got a lot of catching up to do China Is Installing Renewables Equivalent to Five Large Nuclear Plants Per Week
C. Too long, too rambling. (And too late at night!)
regardless of how much it offends your sensibilities, the 2020 election was stolen. Trump’s only hope is the 2024 is a complete landslide that is unstealable.
All of what i saw of the convention, was on the news. But i will say that 90 minutes is too long for a speech.
Trump’s speech was way too long. As Pharaoh complained about his High Priest in “The Ten Commandments”: The old wind bag. The longer Trump spoke, the less unifying it sounded. Nevertheless, I still strongly support his goals for the US to gain control of its southern border and to pull out of Ukraine and I will vote for him. I have been opposed to the US meddling in Ukraine’s affairs since 2014 when Victoria Nuland was promoting the Maidan Revolution. The US was ignoring Russia’s security concerns as far back as 1990. Russia isn’t going anywhere and the neocons ought to get used to it. I doubt that he will be successful in making our central cities safe for law abiding citizens.
After the hell that Dems have put Trump through with three years of distracting fruitless “independent” counsel (11 Hillary attorneys) investigations during his presidency, a year of Dem supported BLM-antifa riots, 2 phoney impeachments (the Supreme Court Justice declined to preside over the second one), bogus lawfare trials, eight years of hoaxes and lies put out by the Deep State and government enslaved legacy media, and with 8 years of “Hitler” rhetoric plus mismanagement of security that almost cost his life, he’s earned the right to talk as long as he wants at his convention.
Additionally, being able to stand and speak for 93 minutes offers another striking comparison to Biden who was unable to navigate three stairs offstage after the debate without assistance. Plus in all 93 minutes he didn’t get lost on stage, suck his wife’s fingers, sniff little girls, or need his wife’s assistance to walk. He didn’t wander around aimlessly with his mouth open or need a roomfull of staff to clarify his gaffes afterwards.
The speech will not matter to voters. 90% or 95% didn’t listen. Voters have already decided whether to continue with biden Handlers’ policies , or reject them.
Didn’t watch but doesn’t matter to me. His past record was enough for me to pull the lever for him.
Exactly !! Joe has wrecked the country and 4 more years of this would be Goodbye USA.
Didn’t watch it. Read the summary of his major points. Looking for investment info.
He wants to save the US auto Industry by eliminating mandates for electric vehicles.
He wants to eliminate the push for green energy.
He wants to “drill baby drill”.
This is all predictable. And it highlights how difficult it will be to stop global warming and climate change. Which is what Realist said would happen many years ago.
Many oil companies are already reducing the small amounts that they were investing in renewable energy. Because they cannot make enough money at it.
But that does not mean they will spend more on oil exploration and production. Oil companies are now very disciplined and are hesitant to “drill baby drill” because they have learned from their past mistakes. Too much drilling leads to overproduction and lower prices which hurts profits.
The exception is gas companies.
They are currently overproducing which has resulted in a surplus of natgas and prices dropping from $10 to $2 over the last two years.
Other than that, I didn’t see too much of interest. Mostly impossible promises:
He will lower taxes, make the economy boom and pay down the debt. He will rebuild our infrastructure. Save our jobs. Blah blah blah.Same old garbage that every politician says. Might as well say he will cure cancer and increase our lifespan to 200 years.
Papa Dave: You are so negative, 1/2 your stmts are false. I feel sorry for any friend or fam member who hears your rants.
The opening and closing were solid and warm. The middle was predictable. Donald needs a great speech writer like Reagan had.
Sounded like Biden on crank.
Is Trump supposed to get elected because of his Oratory skills?
Anyone who watches Trump expecting to get their heads filled with beautiful words, get a grip.
People of Action rarely can get more then a grunt or two uttered. By those standards Trump is a Shakespeare or Mozart
But if you want a change of course for the Nation then look how he has reshaped the GOP against all Odds and do some projecting.
Had enough of the Letter writers threatening to really write another Letter.
Whole of government would benefit the populace if there was “A little less Talk and a Lot more Action.” If it is Action that lets the people Go.
Trump showed relative stamina compared to Biden, but it was WAY too long.
A- And yeah it was maybe too long……
Finally this party is reaching out to ALL Americans. Well, at least talking about reaching out, time will tell………..
He ripped up the speech that just tore into the Biden Admin because it was not needed. Any American, black white brown jew & gentile knows how F’d up our country is in so many ways that there is no need to pound the table anymore.
I loved it.
It needed to be longer.
Mr. Trump looks like another elderly man with some health issues.
I look forward to seeing who the Democrats come up with.
Just remember to get a white guy because its the only way you’re going to sell your socialist and anti white bullshit to arrogant and ignorant white liberals and brainwashed African Americans .
You know, like you did resurrecting JB
Dave: You’re my new hero of Commenters! I’ll remember it!
Touchee!!!
Reader accuser Trump speech full of lies. He does not know the difference between ordinary puffery or controversial opinions and outright lies. For example: saying Steffi Graff is the greatest female tennis player of all time is not a lie, it’s merely an opinion. Likewise when a used car salesman says that the car he shows you is the best of that type he has ever seen, that is not a lie. A lie is like when the president says that he knows nothing of his son’s business dealings, and incontrovertible evidence exists that he does, or “Trump is a Russian asset”—those are lies. “The devil is a liar and the father of the lie”
There are other kinds of lies.
White Lies. For example if your wife asks you if she looks fat, you never answer yes regardless of what the truth is.
Accepted Lies. These are lies in certain subject area’s that everyone tells and everyone assumes is just a lie. For example fishermen stories are always considered lies and accepted lies. Trump and Biden lying about their golf handicap is a classic example of this kind of lie.
Many of the things Trump brags about fall into the latter category. Lies about things everyone knows are obvious lies in areas that everyone lies about.
Lies of Omission.
You set too low a bar for our elected officials.
Opinions by the President need to be fairly accurate or one loses trust in the office and the man. Trust is crucial for any leader.
This was a big problem in Trump’s first term. Trump’s own cabinet constantly had to make corrections to Trump misstatements. As a result, Trump frequently fired senior people for disloyalty when he was the cause of the problem. Eventually, no one inside the government or among the public knew who or what to believe due to inconsistent messaging. This problem was particularly acute during the Covid crisis.
Hyperbolic opinions are apt to be misinterpreted and have unforeseen consequences, e.g. “my opinion is we should bomb the hell out of X if they do Y” without any due diligence. Y might then bomb first.
I want a President who does his due diligence first, and opens his mouth later.
“However, I did not agree with a single thing he said”
That is totally normal. You are a Libertarian and Trump is not and none of his economic policies are close to yours. This Republican party has cleansed itself of those such as Romney who worked hard to instill laws that encouraged the gutting of our industries in order to turn a quick profit.
Careful there… Miss’s “I did not agree with a single thing” comment was about Biden’s SOTU speech, not Trump.
Thanks for correcting me.
Almost no one who self identifies as libertarian is really libertarian when you listen to them.
Mish,
Watched it live as well.
I’d give him:
C+ on delivery (subdued demeanor)
C+ on content (nothing new)
B+ on polish (professional in tone)
B+ on theatrics (good use of props)
B overall (Trump didn’t hurt his case)
The one glaring issue is immigration. I get his points and they’re valid, but the tone (not message/words) is “Immigrants are murderers and thieves”. He can try and say all he wants “I’m Not talking about legal immigration – we want them”. But that won’t work. Just harken back to his “fine people on both sides” comment. It’s too easy to misquote and misuse.
This idea of “mass deportation” will be the issue that costs him the election…..
my two cents…
So, people should be able to break into your house, set up shop and you pay for their expenses. Then, because of their mere existence in a particular state, California say, they get counted in the census and that state gets more Representatives.
There are no consequences, only rewards, for law-breaking.
I watched bits and pieces of the convention but probably more than I will of the Dems. These events are nothing but pep rallys for both parties. I will say when I saw the tampons on their ears, the massive cheers for the video of kid at Ole-Miss, and the media adulation over “unity” being so prevalent that what I saw looked like Jonestown.
I don’t expect much better from Dems either.
Mish, I would grade the 30 minute “Empathetic Trump” as an A+ in the first half hour for tone and symbolism for the suburban moms, etc plus major points for appropriate big points for bad-assery. The second half was kind of okay, way too long, but much was the standard blathering bullshit that is in a typical rally speech. Economic nonsense abounds – We’re going to cut interest rates, we’re going to cut taxes, and we’re going to kill the inflation monster. I hate when politicians tell me what I want to hear. One issue under his control, ending the EV mandates and green scam, etc, is not only possible but economically sound. Second half, grade C. Average it out to B. Both parties blather nonsense, Trump’s blather is considerably easier to take and he also doesn’t advocate cutting the genitals off the kids for the “Island of Misfit Humans” Agenda.
Not sure that cringe is that meaningful at the present juncture. Gaslighting to hell and division over everything, except that Joe has full diapers, or projecting strength and talking reconciliation and success. Keep the +.
Did not watch the speech (or any of the convention). Just want to say that if it ends up being Kamala, I hope Trump doesn’t call her “nasty”. Even I think it’s sexist to call any woman opponent nasty. Better to damn her with faint praise like saying that being attractive isn’t reason enough to elect her.
Trump called Hillary a nasty woman, and it didn’t seem to hurt him in that election…
I don’t like Hillary. I actually dislike Hillary. But calling her nasty is some nasty shit.
You’re a nasty man, James.
Exactly.
For example you could say that Kamala is much smarter than the average fish.
Not nasty. Dumb.
It really doesn’t matter who the democrats run, the race is already decided by the people of this great land. Democrats revealed their hand and most see them for what they truly are. A party of corruption, lies, deceit and control.
Although he tried, Trump should’ve acted more drained and feeble to get the Bidenista’s to stay in the race. Now that the Trump-haters don’t need to defend Biden anymore, they will find renewed psychotic strength. The only question is will their psychosis peak with Michelle or Hitlary?
That would be psychosis if they re-ran the 2016 election and expected a different result!
Other than Churchill’s Fight on the Beaches,,,, FDR’s A Day that will live in Infamy,,, or JFK’s Ask not ,,,speeches are any political speeches “honest”? You can go back in history and find a few from Roman and Greek times but that’s about it. All politicians are actors. All political speeches are given by actors playing parts, reciting lines to an audience and hoping for standing O’s and calls for encores.
Does his speech really matter? Does anyone actually watch or care about these conventions who is not already a partisan. Crap, I’m a partisan and I have better things to do with my time than watching a bunch of self serving politicians. Republican convention = funny hats, dreary speeches, balloons. Democrat convention = funny hats, lots of teacher’s union reps and pandering, balloons. Would rather watch reruns of Ancient Aliens.
I see you vote for a “B” ggg. Trump did everything he needed to do just by not making a fool of himself.
Lol ancient aliens
Is that the show that was on The History Channel and had the crazy haired guy that believed that Aliens built the pyramids and crap like that?
Agreed. These conventions are nothing but verbal fentanyl for party loyalists and a chance for lobbyists to get quick access.
Agree…these conventions are the equivalent of the Oscars or Emmys.
The political conventions bring a lot more prostitutes to town than the Oscars or Emmys.
Can’t argue with that.
I think speeches only matter if you really screw up like Biden did by being incoherent or you say something meme worthy (good or bad).
Not sure any ‘positive’ thing matters for any candidate anymore (it certainly did 30+ years ago in the age of no internet, a handful of TV stations and most of America watching these things).
So I’d say B because he didn’t screw up. He only gets a plus if he had a positive meme worthy moment and less than a B if he had a negative meme worthy moment.