President Donald Trump’s recent speech received a tempered yet positive response from a predominantly Republican audience, as revealed by a CNN poll conducted by SSRS. While viewers generally believed Trump’s policies would lead the country in the right direction across various focus areas, there were reservations about his ability to provide real leadership and use presidential power responsibly. Despite this, approximately 70% of speech-watchers reacted somewhat positively, with 44% expressing a very positive response, slightly lower than previous presidential addresses.

The audience, skewed towards Republicans, disapproved of a protest by a Democratic member of Congress during the speech. Pre-speech polls indicated that 61% approved of Trump’s overall presidency handling, contrasting with his underwater approval rating among the general American public. Interestingly, the speech did not significantly alter the audience’s already positive views on Trump’s policies.

Notably, Trump received high marks for his immigration policies, with 76% believing they would benefit America. On other issues like the economy and tariffs, opinions were more divided. Additionally, viewers largely aligned with Trump’s foreign affairs approach towards Ukraine and Russia, though some felt he was too supportive of Russia and not supportive enough of Ukraine.

Historically, presidential addresses seldom lead to substantial shifts in public opinion, a trend likely to continue given current political polarization. The CNN poll, based on 431 US adults who watched the speech, provides insights into the perspectives of speech-watchers, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.