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VP Mike Pence: Trump speech showed the president I have known all along

Vice President Mike Pence said Donald Trump's softer tone in his address to Congress is "the president that I've seen every day since I've joined this campaign."
/ Source: TODAY

Donald Trump's first address to Congress on Tuesday night had many observers noting his softer, bipartisan tone, which came as no surprise to Vice President Mike Pence.

"It was a great speech,'' Pence told Lester Holt on TODAY Wednesday. "What the American people saw is the president I serve with every day - broad shoulders, a big heart.

"The president that I saw last night is the president that I've seen every day since I've joined this campaign. He's a fighter, and when it comes time to making his case to the American people and fighting for what he believes in, he brings that case and he brings it strong."

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Trump stuck to a prepared script as he outlined his agenda with a focus on immigration reform, sweeping changes in the health care system and a large infrastructure program.

"Maybe it was just the context of the unique nature of an address to a joint session of Congress that the American people got a look at the president in full,'' Pence said. "They saw his strength, they saw his compassion, they saw his determination to move this country forward with optimism."

With a focus on repealing Obamacare, Trump's speech laid out specifics and a framework for Congress, according to Pence. He also called for both parties to come together and work toward solutions for the nation's problems.

"I think that last night represented a moment where the president, in an unfiltered way, was able to present his agenda to the American people,'' Pence said. "He was able to present both his strength and his heart, and it gives me great confidence that we're now going to be able to move this country forward, hopefully in a bipartisan way."

Follow TODAY.com writer Scott Stump on Twitter.