Trump gets positive reviews for Congress address
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s muted prime-time address to Congress got positive reviews on Wednesday, but numerous questions remained about the details and costs of his ambitious agenda.
Americans reacted warmly to Trump’s lengthy speech, in which he ditched the most bellicose of his rhetoric in favour of a call for national unity and a more presidential timber.
A CBS News/ YouGov poll showed that 76 per cent of those who watched the speech approved of what they saw.
Wall Street also voiced its appreciation, with the Dow topping 21,000 for the fi rst time.
It was a substantial and much needed boost for the 70-year- old Republican president, whose approval rating is at a historic low for presidents after a month in office, and his embattled White House.
Trump — ever- aware of his image and popularity — fired a triumphant ‘ THANK YOU!’ message to his 25 million Twitter followers Wednesday morning.
To keep the momentum, the White House postponed the unveiling of a controversial new ban on travellers from mostly Muslim countries, which would have dominated news coverage.
It also pared back Trump’s public remarks and held its daily press briefi ng off- camera.
The speech — staunchly nationalist, but delivered in a more measured tone — may help soothe a deeply divided country. In the nearly six weeks since Trump took office, political polarisation in America has reached fever pitch.
Trump’s supporters have flung themselves into the cause, hoping the election of an outsider will shake up the elites and insider
I think we were all really pleased last night to hear the president’s unifying message. It was refreshing for everyone after such a difficult election season.
politics in Washington.
But among opponents, there is still a sense of disbelief that a billionaire with what they see as authoritarian tendencies and no political experience is in charge of the world’s pre- eminent superpower.
According to Gallup, there has been a steady increase since November’s election in the number of Americans experiencing worry on any given day.
An estimated 48 million people tuned in to watch Trump’s speech, according to the Nielsen ratings firm, lower than the some 53 million who watched former president Barack Obama’s first joint address in 2009.
Trump’s speech was welcomed by the hundreds of mostly Republican lawmakers who witnessed it fi rsthand in Congress.
“I think we were all really pleased last night to hear the president’s unifying message. It was refreshing for everyone after such a difficult election season,” Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor.
Americans, he said, are “ready for a new start.”
Trump brought Republicans and Democrats together by strongly criticising recent threats against Jewish community centres and condemning the seemingly racially motivated killing of an Indian immigrant. He also reached out to opposition Democrats, reprising his call for a US$ 1 trillion infrastructure bill and expressing support for paid family leave and affordable child care.
Attention will now turn to how Trump can meet those pledges — along with goals to ‘restart’ the US economy, boost defence spending and reduce violent crime.
While he promised to replace his predecessor’s landmark health care reforms with a plan that would broaden choice, lower costs and improve access, he offered little in terms of how that would be achieved. — AFP
Mitch McConnell, Senator Majority Leader