President Trump’s speech on Wednesday in Reno, Nev., was a day-and-night contrast to his performance on Tuesday in Phoenix, where he ignored his prepared remarks.
President Trump at a campaign-style rally in Phoenix promised he would shut down the government if Congress does not fund a wall on the southern border.
In freewheeling remarks, President Trump abandoned a theme of national unity to focus on the news media that he said “are trying to take away our history and our heritage.”
The president’s penchant for defying convention was on vivid display even during the solar eclipse, when he discarded advice about averting his eyes from the sun.
It was a week of turmoil, but it seemed to prove an immutable rule of the Trump presidency: People see what they want to see, even if others see something very different.