James Hohmann: “The president has proven adept at reading from a script when the moment calls for some self-discipline. It is a very low bar but one that he’s learned to clear. In his maiden speech to a joint session of Congress, Teleprompter Trump delivered. Republicans who have been backing him up on the Hill breathed a sigh of relief.”

“Trump concerns himself primarily with the performance aspects of politics, which is why he can rise to the occasion during events like the one last night. The open question of his presidency is who will control the substance. And last night’s speech offered some important clues.”

“The preparation of any State of the Union style-address always involves a lot of cooks in the kitchen, no matter who the president is. Everyone in the White House and every cabinet secretary wants shot-outs for their priorities and pet projects, which is why these speeches often grow so long and usually turn into unmemorable exercises in box-checking. If you listened carefully as Trump spoke, you could hear the voices of a few of his top aides, but none more so than chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, as channeled by Stephen Miller, and Ivanka Trump.”

Washington Post: “An address to Congress is such an important speech that presidents generally are careful not to stretch the truth. The ‘16 words‘ in George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address that falsely claimed Iraq’s Saddam Hussein sought uranium from Africa led to significant turmoil in the administration, including the criminal conviction of a top aide.”

“President Trump’s maiden address to Congress was notable because it was filled with numerous inaccuracies. In fact, many of the president’s false claims are old favorites that he trots out on a regular, almost daily basis.”

Politifact: “Beyond his soaring rhetoric were some exaggerations or misleading statements about the health of the Affordable Care Act, the cost of illegal immigration and the state of the economy. He also got a number of statistical claims correct, though he sometimes seemed to claim more credit than may be justified.”

Ben Casselman: “Reviews of President Trump’s first address to Congress on Tuesday night seem to be converging around a single theme: It was Trump at his most subdued… And they’re right. In tone and style, Trump’s speech was relatively normal, at least judging it against his earlier efforts. He opened his address by condemning recent threats against Jewish community centers and the shooting last week of two Indian immigrants in Kansas City, something he had been criticized for not doing earlier. He called for unity and cross-party cooperation, and stayed away from attacks on the press or his political opponents. Apart from a few banal ad-libs, he largely stuck to his script.”

“But beneath the gentler tone, Trump’s speech — a State of the Union address in all but name — was quietly radical. He called for a complete overhaul of U.S. policy on taxes, trade, immigration and health care. He proposed spending billions more on defense and as much as $1 trillion on infrastructure. And he promised a new version of his controversial — and currently stalled — travel ban on visitors from seven majority Muslim countries.”

A CNN instant poll last night found that 57% of those who watched President Trump’s address to Congress had a “very positive” reaction to Trump’s speech.

In contrast, 68% gave former President Obama a “very positive” reaction to his first joint session, compared to 66% for former president George W. Bush.

CBS News: “Overall, most watchers approved of the speech. Republicans did tune in to watch it in much greater numbers than Democrats (as a president’s party typically does) which bolstered those approval numbers. Forty percent of Democrats at least somewhat approved; 18 percent strongly approved.”

Playbook: “In terms of navigating Washington, the speech showed Trump has a lot to learn. He said he wants to work with Democrats and called on Washington to ditch ‘trivial fights,’ but, in the last 40 days, he has called Chuck Schumer a phony and, just this week, he said Nancy Pelosi is incompetent. He called for immigration reform, but is intent on building a ‘great wall’ along the U.S.-Mexico border — a major problem for Democrats. He implored Democrats to work with him on a health-care overhaul, but spent a good chunk of time calling the Affordable Care Act — which they spent lots of political capital on — a failure. He also appeared to motion at Pelosi when railing against the law.”

“Newsflash: Mr. President, you’re going to need Nancy Pelosi more than you realize (see: debt ceiling, government funding, infrastructure). Get to know her. We’re not passing judgement on what Trump said. Merely discussing the political realities about what it means for governing. It was a mixed message, to put it mildly.”

President Trump will address a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. ET.

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Benny Johnson: “The president was heading to his new flagship property in D.C., the Trump Hotel, for a private dinner at the BLT Steakhouse inside. Once the president arrived at the location, the reporter who was on assignment to cover him, Jordan Fabian of The Hill, was not let into the building and had to wait in the van outside for the remainder of the dinner, without a guest list or details of what was happening inside.”

“Inside the restaurant, I was seated at a table which I had booked hours earlier, directly next to where Trump would be dining. I made the booking based on a tip from a trusted source. I was ready to tell the story no one else would get to see and was personally fascinated to observe how a restaurant prepares for a president — and how Trump interacts when he believes no press are present.”

“The night was a wild one. Here is what happens when President Trump goes to dinner.”