Trump Heralds ‘New American Moment’
Abullish US President Donald Trump has proclaimed a “new American moment” as he delivered his maiden State of the Union speech to Congress.
In a primetime address, the Republican leader said he is “extending an open hand” to Democrats to work together. Mr Trump also said he was ordering Guantanamo Bay to be kept open, reversing an Obama-era directive to close the controversial detention camp. The American economy is booming but Mr Trump’s approval rating languishes. In an upbeat message a world away from the apocalyptic tone he struck in his “American carnage” inaugural address of just a year ago, Mr Trump said his administration is “building a safe, strong and proud America”. “There has never been a better time to start living the American dream,” he told lawmakers. As many as 40 million television viewers were expected to tune in as he implored the nation to come together as “one team, one people and one American family”.
What did he say on foreign policy?
Mr Trump also condemned “depraved” North Korea. He warned that Pyongyang’s “reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. “We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from happening.”
Mr Trump paid tribute to a disabled defector from the regime, Ji Seong-ho, who fled the country on crutches and was in the audience. The president also noted that nearly all the territory in Syria and Iraq once controlled by the Islamic State group has been retaken.
“We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated,” Mr Trump vowed. While his two White House predecessors have used their State of the Union speeches to forecast victory for American forces in Afghanistan, Mr Trump largely skirted what is now America’s longest war. In an apparent acknowledgment of the deteriorating security situation there, he said the US “military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines”.
He only mentioned Russia once alongside China as a rival. Mr Trump made a plea for the kind of bipartisan co-operation that has been in short supply during a turbulent first year in office.
The president, who has enraged Democrats by withdrawing protections for immigrants who entered the US illegally as children, offered an olive branch.
Mr Trump again touted his pet plan to rebuild America’s aging roads and other infrastructure, though he is not expected to offer many details.