[ad_1]
It is half the term of Donald Trump and, for over an hour, the president has held the nation's full attention. It was a speech presented as bipartisan, but in flowery language were the same divisions and disagreements.
Here are five excerpts from the president's speech, as well as an badysis of the Democratic response.
New speech, same conflict
The favorable moment of the State of the Union address in 2019 took place when the President recognized the record number of women sitting in the US Congress, pushing white lawmakers to stand up and applaud at the same time. An exuberant demonstration of exuberance.
However, the president probably did not lose sight of the fact that most of those who applauded were Democrats – and that they had won the last election by bumping into his policies.
They – along with most other Democrats – were definitely not encouraging the rest of the president's speech. The president talked about immigration. They sat on their hands as he urged Congress to adopt new anti-abortion legislation. There were audible moans when Mr. Trump warned that "ridiculous partisan inquiries" from his administration could threaten the "economic miracle" in the United States.
As the president lifted his speech with applause and tributes to World War II veterans, childhood cancer patients, and Holocaust survivors, the sharp divisions in American politics were also visible.
The address even started with a slight step so subtle. The President began to speak without waiting for an official presentation from the Speaker of the House and the largest Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, a break with tradition.
Ms. Pelosi's office tweeted the responses and criticisms of the President's speech as it unfolded. His applause often seemed less of an endorsement than a bitter reprimand.
Both opponents started the year in deadly partisan combat, and this State of the Union address did not indicate an end to the conflict.
No exit ramp for immigration
The most important problem regarding Mr. Trump's state of the Union speech was perhaps the ongoing confrontation between Democrats and Republicans about immigration policy and the Mr. Trump's border wall project. This has led to the recent closure of the government and, if no compromise is found, could result in a new closure within a week from Friday.
The president, who placed the wall at the center of his 2016 campaign, reiterated his call for it to spread across the Mexican border. He no longer says it will be a concrete structure, but will describe it Tuesday as a "smart, strategic and transparent steel barrier". And there was no mention of his commitment that Mexico would pay for the structure.
The president insisted, however, that "walls work and walls save lives". The Democrats have shown no indication that they would offer any funding whatsoever.
Something must give.
Tuesday night, Mr. Trump did not indicate an exit. No presidential "emergency declaration" would risk allowing Mr. Trump to order the US military to build the wall without congressional approval. There was no sign of recoil.
Instead, Mr. Trump concluded his immigration speech of about 17 minutes with an open hubbub, placing this political bag of snakes firmly in the lap of the congressional negotiators.
"Let's work together, make compromises and reach an agreement that will truly guarantee the security of America," he said.
A re-election pitch
With Democratic candidates – including many Capitol MPs – already preparing to challenge Trump in next year's presidential election, this speech could also be seen as the first major speech by the president on his re-election campaign.
First of all, he listed his achievements. He spoke of an "unprecedented economic boom," boasting of rising wages, 5.3 million new jobs, 600,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector and a low unemployment rate.
The credit for that, he said, is his tax cuts and his reductions in government regulation. And for the first time since 1955, he noted, the United States is a net exporter of energy, for which it has earned (although the trends have been in place since the fracking boom from the Obama era).
Trump also spoke of some other legislative successes, including criminal justice reform and a law allowing patients with terminal illnesses to try experimental drugs. If the economy is still good, however, the economy will be at the heart of its reelection speech.
A presidential campaign, however, goes beyond the sale of the candidate. It is also about convincing the public that the alternative is the wrong choice. And in a few lines on Tuesday night, the President also gave a preview of what will happen there.
After talking about the "brutality" of the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro, Mr. Trump turned to an attack on his political opponents.
Caption: Senator Bernie Sanders does not seem impressed by President Trump's attack on socialist politics
"Here in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country," he said. "America was founded on freedom and independence, not on constraint, domination and control of the government".
Recent polls have shown that a growing number of Democrats are adopting a more positive view of "socialism" in relation to capitalism – although in this case they support policies more in line with European socialism and not with dictatorship. Venezuelan.
The president however does not make any distinction of this type and seems rather ready to present the Democratic presidential candidates who afflict left on issues like health, education and income inequality, as too radical for them to be entrusted with power.
"We renew our determination that America will never be a socialist country," concluded Mr. Trump at a thunderous applause from Republicans in the room.
Expect to hear similar phrases again and again until polling day in November 2020.
The rest of the agenda
The political battles of the Wall that have taken place over the last two months have prevented any discussion of other presidential priorities. In his State of the Union address, the President has sought to bring to life some of his other political priorities, including areas that could find bipartisan support in less polarized times.
Investment in infrastructure, a long-promised but never formally proposed presidential goal, has again failed. He extolled his recently negotiated trade deal with Canada and Mexico, although he never explicitly called on Congress to approve the deal, which he must do at one point given. There were a few lines on reducing prescription drug prices and eliminating HIV transmission and cancer in children.
When he turned to foreign policy – the latest subject of his speech – the list of launderers continued. He praised the withdrawal of the Mid-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty from Russia and warned that if a new agreement could not be reached, the United States would "spend and innovate" all the others in the development of nuclear weapons.
He has touted ongoing negotiations with North Korea, including a new summit with Kim Jong-a later this month. He also spoke of the conclusion of "endless wars", again claiming that the United States would withdraw Syrian forces and negotiate peace in Afghanistan. He did not, however, give a timetable for the process.
In foreign affairs, the president has extensive powers. If Mr. Trump can ignore legislators' criticism and occasional disapproval within his administration, he could achieve some of his goals.
As far as domestic politics is concerned, however, his proposals have actually died in the water. They were filled in the speech, pronounced without enthusiasm. From here tomorrow, most of them will be forgotten while swirling the whirlwind of modern American politics.
The democratic answer
It becomes difficult for Democrats to find a voice for the party that does not have either secret or public presidential ambitions.
Rather than giving a boost to a potential White House candidate, the Democrats turned to someone whose last term in office ended in defeat, Stacey Abrams of Georgia .
Although Ms. Abrams does not hold a current position, her campaign for the governorship of Georgia has reflected the current situation of the Democratic Party: a diverse and politically progressive ethnic group.
Stacey Abrams: "We want Trump to tell the truth"
Where the president's speech was clear on the new political proposals, the response of Ms. Abrams Democratic was full of politics. In about five minutes, she tackled gun control, the cost of higher education, climate change, health reform, and the right to vote.
She blamed the Republicans for closing the government, criticized the president's tax reform bill as "rigged against" workers, and touted immigrants' contributions to American society.
The Democratic Party has more than its share of internal disagreements. Questions arise about how to achieve universal low-cost health education, combat income inequality and racism, and determine which taxes to reduce and increase. . They have their own debates on foreign policy, which has become clear when candidates for the Democratic presidency in the House applauded Trump's statement about endless foreign wars.
Abrams' response, however, helped narrow the gaps and presented the Democratic Party as a compbadionate alternative to Trump and the Republicans.
"Our progress has always been found in the shelter, in the basic instinct of the American experience, that our people act properly," she said.
However, as the race for democratic presidential elections warms, it will be impossible to ignore the differences within the party – and between the personalities who are fighting over the party's face -.
[ad_2]
Source link
