Domenico Montanaro

Well, and there was, I mean, more flexibility, obviously, with some of these rules that had been put in place where they did trust the shows to make those decisions and they didn't want to appear to have government overreach.

But Trump has shown that he's willing to go as far as the law is willing to let him go and maybe even further unless the courts are willing to step in and stop him.

Look, if there's a word that's landed Trump in political hot water in this first year and made him unpopular with independents and persuadable voters, it's overreach.

There's a risk here in looking like the very thing that his critics are accusing him of being, you know, the idea of autocracy and backsliding and cracking down on voters.

what journalists and artists are able to do.

And I think that we're seeing this sort of tension that has risen up.

And that's where the backfiring can kind of come in for Trump and Republicans if they're viewed as pushing too hard to suppress speech.

And I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.

In his first official State of the Union address of a second term, President Trump hit a lot of familiar points.

Immigration and crime.

with, of course, some typical Trump showmanship thrown in.

The gold medal winning Olympic men's hockey team was there.

So were veterans who were decorated with medals of honor.

But Trump largely ignored the warts in the economy, the very issue most voters are saying is their top concern.

And it's what's landed Trump and the Republican Party in a precarious position in this midterm election year.

And with views largely baked in on this president, Trump may have missed an opportunity to show he feels voters pain.

After all, there aren't that many chances for a president

to talk to the nation in prime time.

Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington.

Trump decided to talk about the economy, which is people's top concern.