Michael Barbaro

Instead of trying to justify all of his administration's conduct in places like Minneapolis, for example, where ICE enforcement has become a real liability for him, he is attempting to turn this around and make it a liability for Democrats.

It's deeply unclear whether that will work,

But he's saying they remain out of the mainstream.

This is not about me.

This is about them in an election year.

Okay, David, we're going to take a quick break.

When we come back, we're going to talk about how the president eventually gets to that third act of this speech by way of a journey through foreign affairs.

So we'll be right back.

So, David, about an hour into this speech, President Trump turns to international affairs and his role in bringing about the end to a whole lot of conflicts, as he puts it.

Right.

He steadfastly refused to offer any real support to Ukraine.

And then the president pivots to the international subject that all of us were wondering whether he would get to, and if he got to it, how thoroughly he would broach it, which is Iran.

I have to say, David, I had a slightly different reaction to hearing this section of the speech, and I almost never differ with you.

But I heard what felt like a...

all the above rationale from the president in stating his disgust with Iran.

And taken together, it did feel like the beginning of a rationale for military action against Iran.

It's interesting, at least it was to me, that the president chose to juxtapose his implicit threats against Iran with his already very explicit actions against Venezuela.

I'm curious, David, as a veteran of State of the Unions and also as someone who's covered military affairs in your day, how you thought about all of the...

military awards that the president bestowed during this speech.

I tend to think of those as awards typically given in solemn, much more intimate ceremonies.