Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Trump says ‘ridiculous’ probes derail progress

Divided Congress hears State of Union

- CHIP SOMODEVILL­A/GETTY IMAGES

WASHINGTON – In his first State of the Union address to a divided Congress, President Donald Trump warned Democrats on Tuesday that “ridiculous partisan investigat­ions” could derail the nation’s economic progress.

Trump peppered his speech with calls for bipartisan­ship, urging Washington to govern “not as two parties, but as one nation.” But his message clashed with the rancorous atmosphere he has helped cultivate in the nation’s capital, as well as the desire of most Democrats to block his path during his next two years in office.

The president’s remarks previewed how he planned to defend himself as Democrats launch a flurry of investigat­ions into his administra­tion and personal finances.

“If there is going to be peace and legislatio­n, there cannot be war and investigat­ion,” he declared.

Trump’s speech to lawmakers and the nation comes at a critical moment in his presidency. He pushed his party into a

“If there is going to be peace and legislatio­n, there cannot be war and investigat­ion.” President Donald Trump

lengthy government shutdown over border security, only to cave to Democrats. With another shutdown deadline looming, the president has few options for getting Congress to fund a border wall, and he risks further alienating his party if he tries to circumvent lawmakers by declaring a national emergency instead.

Trump made no mention of an emergency declaratio­n in his remarks. And though he offered a lengthy defense of his call for a border wall. But he delivered no ultimatums about what it would take for him to sign legislatio­n to keep the government open.

“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.

In his speech, Trump also planned to announce details of a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, outlining a summit on Feb. 27 and 28 in Vietnam, according to his prepared remarks. Trump has been teasing the meeting in recent weeks. The two met last summer in Singapore, though that meeting only led to a vaguely worded commitment by the North to denucleari­ze.

As he stood before lawmakers, the president was surrounded by symbols of his emboldened political opposition. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was praised by Democrats for her hard-line negotiatin­g during the shutdown, sat behind Trump as he spoke. Many House Democratic women wore white, the color favored by early 20th-century suffragett­es. And several senators running for president were also in the audience, including Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Trump’s address amounted to an opening argument for his re-election campaign. Polls show he has work to do, with his approval rating falling to just 34 percent after the shutdown, according to a recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

One bright spot for the president has been the economy, which has added jobs for 100 straight months. He said the U.S. has “the hottest economy anywhere in the world.”

He said, “The only thing that can stop it 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.

Turning to foreign policy, another area where Republican­s have increasing­ly been willing to distance themselves from the president, Trump defended his decisions to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanista­n.

“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” he said.

 ??  ?? President Donald Trump, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence looking on, delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday.
President Donald Trump, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence looking on, delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday.
 ??  ?? President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representa­tives at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representa­tives at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night.
 ?? CHIP SOMODEVILL­A/GETTY IMAGES ?? President Donald Trump greets Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the address.
CHIP SOMODEVILL­A/GETTY IMAGES President Donald Trump greets Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the address.

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