President Donald Trump finally did what members of his party wanted him to do. He talked at length about the economy, the issue that average Americans care most about and that will determine how successful he and his party are for the remainder of his second term. At the start of a State of the Union speech that lasted almost two hours, Trump declared economic victory and claimed that the country under his direction is strong, hot, bigger and better than ever.

“When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home and wars and chaos all over the world,” he said. “But tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before and a turnaround for the ages. It is, indeed, a turnaround for the ages.”

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Trump’s problem is that Americans’ views of the country are largely at odds with his. About seven in 10 say the economy is only “fair” or “poor,” as opposed to “excellent” or “good,” according to the Pew Research Center. That’s a gap that will be difficult to close with one speech — one that came after Trump’s tariff policy was........

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