Grade Trump's Speech

[Koharu]

He spoke well enough to get a passing grade. Other than that, it was nothing inspiring and certainly not any major rhetorical feat. D.

[Koharu]

I'm still really surprised by folks giving anything more than a C. Even setting policy and "alternate facts" aside, it's not anything moving or particularly well-written (or read). Most state of the union addresses by most presidents would be in the C- to B- range.

If you truly want to hear an A+ speech, give these a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCXUbQ4JjXI&feature=youtu.be&t=212
https://youtu.be/vP4iY1TtS3s
https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganbrandenburggate.htm
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/

SOTU addresses don't rise to this level, and while Trump sounded composed and gave a coherent speech, that doesn't mean it deserves anything more than a passing grade.