Metro East Sun

Donald Trump’s growth as the nation’s 45th U.S. president was clear to Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) in Trump's first address before Congress on Feb. 28.

Shimkus said the Republican president changed his tone from recent speeches, striking a clearly more inclusive note for a country besieged by partisan divide and asking all citizens to join him in “a new chapter of American greatness.”

Trump also raved about an America “empowered by our aspirations and not burdened by our fears, inspired by the future, not bound by failures of the past” -- all of which struck a chord with Shimkus.

“I was pleased with the president’s address,” Shimkus said in a video posted to Facebook. “His stature and presence rose to the occasion. People could see him not as just leader of the United States but leader of the free world.”

From his opening words, Trump seemed well aware of the high stakes at play in his talk. His first weeks in office have been dogged by controversy. Leading up to his big night, Trump was struggling with the lowest approval ratings of any new commander-in-chief in modern times. But Shimkus insisted he could sense a shifting of the tide.

“He talked about Obamacare and the time to move on a repeal and replace plan,” Shimkus said. “We’re convinced that if you free up the private sector, competition will help drive down cost. We in the House will follow up to replace a failed system with one of higher quality.”

While a senior White House staffer said the president wrote his own speech, the more burning issue is how long Trump’s change in approach might last.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told CNN that Trump’s speeches and his actions often hail from different places.

"Until his reality catches up with his speeches, he's got big trouble," he said.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) went even further, telling the Daily News that Trump’s words on racism amounted to “a monument of hypocrisy.”

"He talked about unity, but he's sowing divisiveness, has victims of murders by illegal immigrants when we know that the crime rates of illegal immigrants is less than the crime rate of people born here," Nadler said, referring to four people Trump had invited to the speech. "He could have just as easily had victims of murders by people born in the United States; instead he's trying to sow hatred of immigrants."

Shimkus was among those who saw things differently, applauding the president’s renewed vow to build a dividing wall along America's southern border.

“His impassioned talk about immigration highlighted the problem,” he said. “First, we must secure the border.”