Trump: "Never been a better time to start living the American dream"
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In the approximately 80-minute address, the third-longest State of the Union, the president pointed to tax cuts passed at the close of last year, along with planned pushes for infrastructure and immigration reform and continued deregulation efforts by the administration.
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Within minutes of calling on lawmakers to "set aside our differences" and "summon the unity we need to deliver for the people," Trump served up red meat for his conservative base, applauding the elimination of the "disastrous Obamacare" individual mandate and touting the influx of conservative justices to the federal courts. That brought Republicans to their feet — and left Democrats in their chairs.
But Trump didn't miss an opportunity to link his "America First" slogan with his hard-line immigration stance. While Democrats like Rep. Joe Crowley of New York exclaimed, "Oh, come on!" in reaction to Trump's proposals, and others audibly groaned at his pledge to end "chain migration," the president declared to Republican applause that "Americans are dreamers, too."
"The United States is a compassionate nation," Trump said. "We are proud that we do more than any other country anywhere in the world to help the needy, the struggling and the underprivileged all over the world. But as president of the United States, my highest loyalty, my greatest compassion, my constant concern is for America's children, America's struggling workers and America's forgotten communities."
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In his remarks, Trump pushed for a "merit-based" immigration program. During his campaign, Trump frequently pointed to stories of families who lost loved ones to violence committed by undocumented immigrants as justification for his hard-line positions — an emotional appeal that he reprised Tuesday evening by honoring two families who had lost children to gang violence.
The president also spoke about gains made in the U.S. battle against ISIS, while conceding there remains "much more work to be done" to win that fight.
"We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated," Trump said, allowing that the fight against terrorism is not done.
As part of that effort, Trump announced that he had just signed a new executive order to keep open the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — making good on a campaign promise to "load it up with some bad dudes" while continuing his well-established focus on reversing the policies of his predecessor, Barack Obama.
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| US First Lady Melania Trump arrived separately from her husband. Photo: EPA |
Trump spent the hours before his address practicing the speech and spoke about his desire for "unity" in the United States during a traditional off-the-record lunch Tuesday with network correspondents at the White House.
"Unity is really what I'm striving for, to bring the country together," Trump said at the lunch.
Trump dedicated several minutes of his remarks to one of Washington's largest and longest-standing legislative fights: immigration reform. The president touted his administration's recently released proposal that makes significant concessions on citizenship for "Dreamers," people brought to the United States illegally as children, while also seeking $25 billion for Trump's long-promised border wall.
