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By Yang Dingdu
When U.S. President Donald Trump so proudly talked about “beautiful, clean coal” in his State of the Union Address Wednesday, senators and congressmen rose up and gave a big round of applause.
One may wonder what’s so beautiful and clean about coal, and how do these words deserve a full house applause?
President Trump brushed over many issues home and abroad in a festive mood to a cheerful crowd in his State of the Union Speech, which is more like a show than a serious statement of national priorities.
Much showmanship
Dramatic as usual, President Trump’s 80-minute speech got a lot of hand-clapping, and even some tears.
Trump was interrupted by 115 rounds of applause, which according to U.S. media was almost record-breaking. It is second only to former President Bill Clinton’s speech in 2000.
To add some human touch to his high-spirited speech, Trump told a few tragic stories in between. He introduced two black families who lost their daughters at the hands of a street gang made of illegal immigrants. The mothers burst into tears at his words.
President Trump told stories of American heroism, heartbreak and tragedy in his emotionally charged first State of the Union. “What he didn't detail were solutions to the crises ahead,” wrote Associated Press in a report titled “Trump’s speech put emotion ahead of problem solving”.
Little substance
Other than taking credit for the tax cut and economic resurgence in the U.S., or the “new American moment”, Trump touched on veteran welfare, government accountability, boosting energy and auto industry, medicine prices, trade, infrastructure, immigration, drug abuse, terrorism and etc.
Among all these issues, Trump only gave concrete measures on immigration. The “four pillar” plan of offering citizenship to immigrants who entered at a young age, securing the border, ending the visa lottery and ending chain migration.
The other issues, which seems to have been randomly stuffed into the speech are mostly about slogans such as “America is a nation of builders”, “the era of economic surrender is over”.
President Trump has time and again vowed to bring dramatic changes to U.S. policies, especially foreign policies. He complained about allies, trade and nuclear crisis and called for improving ties with Russia. None followed through, at least in his first year as president as marked by the State of the Union address.
Over matters of foreign policy, reality speaks louder than rhetoric. Stephen Walt professor of international relations at Harvard University wrote on Foreign Policy, Trump may have promised to “shake the rust off of U.S. foreign policy,” but he has for the most part stuck with the status quo.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
