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US President Donald Trump declared a “new American moment” as he promoted the US economy, immigration reform and infrastructure spending in an 80-minute State of the Union address late on Tuesday evening.
US President Donald Trump called for national unity, strong borders and a powerful US military during his State of the Union address
Addressing a joint session of Congress, Trump also called for increased military spending, reiterated a call for “fair and reciprocal” trade, and declared that the Guantanamo Bay detention center would stay open.
The speech, peppered with anecdotes referencing invited guests, framed Trump’s first year in office as a tale of “incredible progress and extraordinary success” ahead of key midterm elections in November.
Trump sought to highlight areas where he had met campaign promises, lauding the Republican tax plan, which he said had removed “the core of the disastrous Obamacare” by repealing the individual mandate.
The president also outlined areas for bipartisan cooperation, including bringing down prescription drug prices, paid family leave and criminal justice reform, but risked deepening division on immigration with the line, “Americans are Dreamers too.”
Trump failed to mention the Russia investigation, climate change, criticisms of the FBI, gun violence, or the #Metoo movement.
Bipartisanship and unity
“This is our new American moment.”
Trump outlined a vision of a united America despite the fiercely partisan nature of his first year in office－in his well-received speech to Congress last year he also called for an end to division.
The president urged the country to work together as “one team, one people, and one American family” and asked Democrats and Republicans to cooperate for the betterment of all US citizens. The speech was boycotted by several Democratic lawmakers, but Trump detailed several areas of potential bipartisan cooperation.
Democratic US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi during US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in Washington, US, January 30, 2018.
“I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve," Trump said. "We have gone forward with a clear vision and a righteous mission－to make America great again for all Americans."
He praised military, police and emergency service personnel, and promised to continue to honor and help veterans. A slight at NFL players taking a knee during the US anthem in protest at police violence provoked a strong response online.
Economy = election platform
“We repealed the core of the disastrous Obamacare.”
The US economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2017, unemployment is at its lowest rate in 17 years, and the stock market is soaring – and Trump didn’t hesitate to shout about it, even though many commentators see the success as a legacy of the Obama era.
The economy and the tax reform bill seem certain to be the main platform on which the Republicans will fight the November midterm elections, in which they are in danger of losing majorities in both the House and Senate as well as key governorships.
US President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address in Washington, January 30, 2018.
The president said 2.4 million new jobs had been created under his presidency, wages were rising, and “unemployment claims have hit a 45-year high.” He claimed that African American unemployment rate “stands at the lowest rate ever recorded” and Hispanic American unemployment had reached “the lowest levels in history.”
He also stressed the impact of the Republican tax reforms, saying the package passed in December met his campaign pledge and stressed that the bill also repealed the individual mandate in Obamacare – “we repealed the core of the disastrous Obamacare.”
Merit-based immigration
“Americans are Dreamers too.”
Trump promoted his plan for immigration reform, with Dreamers – people who came to the US illegally as children – watching on from the gallery, as a “down the middle compromise that will create a safe modern and lawful immigration system.”
He said his first priority was helping US citizens “because Americans are Dreamers too.” Drawing such a stark contrast between American citizens and the undocumented immigrants is likely to prove extremely divisive.
Tasnim Bushra (L) and Lina Mohammed watch US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in the Brooklyn borough of New York, January 30, 2018. Bushra's parents are from Bangladesh and Mohammed's parents are from Ethiopia.
Trump suggested he would only sign a bill that met his “four pillars,” saying the proposal meets his pledge to put America First. “Let’s get together, put politics aside, and finally get the job done,” he added.
However, the plan has been attacked by both the right – which calls his plan to offer a path to citizenship to Dreamers an amnesty – and Democrats, who may grudgingly fund the border wall but are reluctant to tighten legal immigration. Boos and hisses were heard when he claimed “chain migration” led to unlimited numbers of distant relatives entering the US.
He also linked immigration to a lack of job opportunities for Americans, and called for a “merit-based immigration system.”
Trump claimed “open borders” had led to drugs and crime “pouring into our most vulnerable communities” and made repeated references to MS13, the street gang he has vowed to wipe out whose members are primarily of El Salvadorian ancestry.
‘Getting our wealth back’
“The era of economic surrender is over.”
Trump, who has pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and is renegotiating NAFTA, reiterated his call for “fair and most importantly reciprocal” trade partnerships.
He said the US had “lost its wealth but we’re getting it back so fast” and pledged to work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate effective new ones.
“America has… finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation’s wealth.
“The era of economic surrender is over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and more importantly reciprocal.”
In his only mentions of Russia and China, he said the countries “challenge our interests, our economy, and our values.”
Vice President Mike Pence listens to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in Washington, January 30, 2018.
National security
“Unmatched power is surest means to our true and great defense.”
Trump called for more funding for the military and said the US nuclear arsenal would be renewed, as well as pledging to crack down on terror and keep open the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention center.
The president urged Congress to end the “dangerous defense sequester to fully fund our great military” and pledged to “modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal.” He added that the “magical moment” where all countries give up nuclear weapons had not arrived.
Trump highlighted the progress made in reducing territory held by ISIL in Syria and Iraq, and vowed to “continue our fight until ISIS (ISIL) is defeated.”
He castigated previous administrations for allowing terrorists to be released only for the US to meet them on the battlefield, and announced that he had order Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to “reexamine our military detention policy and keep open our detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay.”
Military chiefs applaud as President Trump delivers his first State of the Union address.
Maximum pressure on DPRK
“Complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation.”
Trump said he was “waging a campaign of maximum pressure” on the DPRK and warned that Pyongyang “could very soon threaten our homeland.”
He asserted that mistakes by previous administrations had allowed Pyongyang to become “a menace that threatens our world.”
“Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of the past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.”
He also hit out at countries that opposed the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and said he had told Congress to draw up legislation to ensure US aid “always serves American interests and only go to friends of America, not enemies of America.”
The president also called Iran a “corrupt dictatorship” and said “America stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom.”
American student Otto Warmbier's parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier cry as US President Donald Trump talks during the State of the Union address about the death of their son after his arrest in the DPRK.
Trillion dollar infrastructure plan
“Rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.”
Trump called on Congress to produce legislation that to fund a 1.5-trillion-US-dollar plan to “rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.”
“I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least 1.5 trillion US dollars for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs,” he said.
The president said every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments, and private sector investment should also be welcomed.
He also called on new regulations to streamline the issuing of permits for construction “to two years, perhaps even one.”
Energy and manufacturing
“We have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal.”
Trump noted that America’s manufacturing base was being reinvigorated under his presidency, a key theme of his campaign, and championed his energy policies.
The president celebrated that car companies are moving plants from overseas back to the US, “We haven’t seen this in a long time, it’s all coming back.”
“They are roaring back, they are coming back, they want to be where the action is, they want to be in the United States of America.”
Trump didn't mention climate change but did highlight his energy policy: “We have ended the war on American energy and we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal… We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world.”
(CGTN)
