WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump appealed Tuesday (Wednesday) for national unity and strong borders in his first State of the Union address, calling for “one American family” after a year marred by acrimony, division and scandal.
Delivering his biggest speech of the year, this most polarizing of presidents sought to put the spotlight on a robust economy, while pointedly calling on a packed joint session of Congress to enact tough curbs on immigration.
“Tonight, 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,” he said.
“Tonight, I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to have, and what kind of nation we are going to be. All of us, together, as one team, one people, and one American family.”
Trump’s opening tone was conciliatory, although it bridged no compromise on his drive to reduce immigration – which he painted as responsible for social ills.
He touched on a range of foreign policy issues – including, in an emotive moment, offering the spotlight to crippled North Korean amputee defector Ji Seong-ho, who waved his crutches in the air as he received a prolonged standing ovation.
Trump warned that Pyongyang’s “reckless” nuclear drive could “very soon” threaten the US homeland, while also eyeing the geopolitical challenge posed by adversaries China and Russia.
But Trump’s State of the Union, the third longest on record at one hour 20 minutes, was overwhelmingly focused on domestic concerns.
Among those looking on were dozens of cross-armed Democratic lawmakers, some decked in black to honor the victims of sexual harassment and still others wearing butterfly stickers in support of immigrants – two social issues that more than any others have roiled America in the age of Trump.
Also in the audience were members of Trump’s own family including the first lady, Melania.
Breaking with tradition, the first couple arrived separately to the Capitol, because, according to the first lady’s spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, she was accompanying guests.
Seeking to enliven his own base, Trump spoke at length on the need for immigration reform, drawing hisses from the opposition as he equated immigrants with criminality and economic tension and spoke of “chain migration.”
Two couples whose daughters were murdered by MS-13, a Salvadoran gang, were among those joining the first lady to watch the address.
The 71-year-old real estate mogul and reality TV star touted a long bull run on Wall Street and improving growth rates, something the White House has dubbed a “Trump bump.”
Trump vowed to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison open – anathema to Democrats and many Republicans.
The CNN poll of people who watched the speech found 48 percent said they had a “very positive” impression of it. That compared to 57 percent after Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address, the network said. Trump’s number was the lowest since CNN first started conducting the poll in 1998, it added.