Politico has a piece on “How Trump’s Disciplined Speech Came Together”.
President Donald Trump sat in the White House Map Room on Tuesday with a coterie of advisers, a black Sharpie, stacks of paper and a teleprompter. Beside him much of the day — the 40th day of his presidency — were Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller. Other aides frequently circled in, from Gary Cohn to Reince Priebus to Kellyanne Conway to Jared Kushner to Sean Spicer to Hope Hicks, suggesting language and offering advice.
Trump remained unhappy with parts of the speech, scribbling notes on printed drafts for aides to incorporate and bring back. He practiced twice on the teleprompter, timing the cadence for specific lines. He continually peppered his team with questions.
The president spent the day of his first address to a joint session of Congress, according to multiple White House officials, much as presidents have before him: revising, reworking and rehearsing. The attention to detail was somewhat unusual for a president who often seems to wing it.
On Tuesday morning, he had “marked up, from front to back,” 17 or 18 pages of text, one White House official said. The president edited again at 3 p.m. The first paragraph was edited as late as 5 p.m.
Around 6:15 p.m., he was convinced the speech had come together. Most in the White House never saw the remarks before he delivered them, because aides were conscientious about avoiding leaks. He kept practicing in the presidential limo on the way over…
Oh, also… Trump is a fascist!