Disdain for Trump as he demands border wall
IN SAN Diego, California locals threw flip-flops at television images of US President Donald Trump as he used his State of the Union speech to demand a wall to defend a “dangerous southern border”.
Blaming illegal immigrants for ills ranging from overcrowded US hospitals to working-class job losses, Trump renewed his call for funding for a border wall, and dug deep into divisions in US-Mexico border communities.
Face to face with emboldened Democrats, Trump called on Washington to cast aside “revenge, resistance and retribution” and end “ridiculous partisan investigations”.
But he refused to yield on the hardline immigration policies that have infuriated Democrats and forced the recent government shutdown. Trump accepted no blame for his role in cultivating the rancorous atmosphere in the nation’s capital, and he didn’t outline a clear path for collaborating with Democrats eager to block his agenda.
Trump is staring down a two-year stretch that will determine whether he is re-elected or leaves office.
“I am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country,” he said, painting a dark picture of the risks posed to Americans by illegal immigration.
The 72-year-old Trump harkened back to moments of American greatness. “Together, we represent the most extraordinary nation in all of history. What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered?” he said.
The president ticked through a litany of issues with crossover appeal, including boosting infrastructure, lowering prescription drug costs and combating childhood cancer. But he also appealed to his political base, both with his harsh rhetoric on immigration and a call for Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the “late-term abortion of children”.
Trump devoted much of his speech to foreign policy, another area where Republicans have distanced themselves from the White House. He announced details of a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, outlining a February 27-28 summit in Vietnam.
“If I had not been elected president of the US, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea,” he said. As he condemned political turmoil in Venezuela, Trump declared that “America will never be a socialist country”. Trump’s address amounted to an opening argument for his re-election campaign.
One major bright spot for the president has been the economy, which has added jobs for 100 straight months.
“The only thing that can stop it,” he said, “are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations” – an apparent swipe at the special counsel investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, and the congressional investigations.
The president also defended his decisions to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan over the opposition from national security officials and many Republican lawmakers.
“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” he said. The US is working with allies to “destroy the remnants” of the Islamic State group and has “accelerated” efforts to reach a settlement in Afghanistan, he said.