Trump Started His Reelection Campaign Last Night

The president’s nearly 90-minute State of the Union address to Congress had all the trappings of Trumpism—dark riffs on crime along the U.S.-Mexico border, a shot at “ridiculous, partisan investigations” into his administration, and promises of robust new trade deals across the globe. Yet Donald Trump also used much of his speech to tout what he called the hottest economy in the world and a greatest-hits list of sorts from the past two years, focusing on legislative victories that transcended intra- and cross-party lines.

It was the kind of message discipline that Republicans craved, but never got, ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. As polls continued to show their majority status all but lost, GOP leaders begged Trump to talk up tax cuts in lieu of caravans. He found those talking points dry, though, and kept to his own strategy—his party