Maybe he'd have been better off not trying. Trump's critics (including me) have castigated him for refusing to go on television and provide a comprehensive explanation of the war to the American people. But given his performance this evening, perhaps he had the right instinct. His address did not come across as a wartime speech but instead was a disjointed series of complaints, brags, and exaggerations (along with a few outright lies) delivered by a man who looked and sounded tired. After his 19 minutes on the air"brisk by Trump's standards"Americans could be forgiven for being even more concerned now than they were only a few days ago.