A call for an end to ‘stalemate’
Trump talks unity during his second address before Congress
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump called on the nation to “break decades of political stalemate” in what he touted as a unifying State of the Union address Tuesday night, one delayed by a 35-day partial government shutdown he’d provoked that exacerbated partisan divisions and put Washington’s dysfunction on vivid display.
“There is a new opportunity in American politics if only we have the courage together to seize it,” Trump said. “Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country.”
“Together, we can break decades of political stalemate. We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock
the extraordinary promise of America’s future. The decision is ours to make.
“Tonight,” he said, “I ask you to choose greatness.”
Despite the calls to compromise, the traditional nationally televised speech came at a perilous juncture for the president, who for the first time shares power with congressional Democrats after last fall’s big election losses, even as he faces judgments in a range of investigations into his administration, family business, campaign and even his 2016 inaugural committee.
Trump defiantly alluded to the investigations at one point, saying, “An economic miracle is taking place in the United States, and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.”
Sitting just behind him, the president’s newly empowered Democratic opponent, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, rolled her eyes.
The president outlined five policy areas as grounds for bipartisan compromise – immigration, trade, infrastructure, health care and national security – yet his record on each over his first two years as president has left Democrats as well as some Republicans skeptical of his willingness both to follow through on his initiatives and to accept compromises.
Even in the days before his speech, the president repeatedly bad-mouthed the efforts of a bipartisan group of lawmakers trying to negotiate compromise border-security measures to avert another impasse with Trump over his demand for $5.7 billion to start building a southern border wall – the issue that caused the shutdown.
He had also teased in advance of the State of the Union address his threat to declare a national emergency on the border, to circumvent Congress altogether and divert existing funds from other purposes to wall construction. The president declined to announce such a declaration, which Republican leaders have warned against. Yet he argued at length for his proposed wall, despite his failed efforts of the past two years.
Trump tried to make the case that overhauling immigration was “a moral duty,” while arguing that “no issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class.”
“Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards,” he said.
Over Trump’s shoulder in the House chamber, Pelosi looked on beside Vice President Mike Trump, dramatizing the president’s new reality that he no longer enjoys the malleable Republican majorities in both the House and Senate that allowed him to control the agenda. For two years, that advantage allowed Trump some successes, including big tax cuts, but proved insufficient to fulfill his promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act and build a wall.