TRUMP USES STATE OF THE UNION TO DEFIANTLY DEFEND IMMIGRATION AGENDA
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump confronted a divided Congress for the first time Tuesday night by delivering a dissonant State of the Union address, interspersing uplifting paeans to bipartisan compromise with chilling depictions of murder and ruin.
Calling the situation at the U.s.-mexico border “an urgent national crisis,” Trump again called on Congress to approve construction of his longpromised wall - and argued that without the physical barrier, working-class Americans would lose their jobs and grapple with dangerous crime and overcrowded schools and hospitals.
Trump also sounded an unmistakable threat to the new Democratic House majority over impending oversight investigations into his conduct and personal finances, as well as alleged corruption in the administration. The President warned that everyday Americans may suffer from what he termed “ridiculous” probes.
“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, ”trump said. “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.”
As he delivered his speech from the rostrum of the House chamber, with a stonefaced Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-calif., observing over his left shoulder, Trump stared into a sea of Democratic women wearing bright white in tribute to suffragists who secured women’s right to vote. Together, they formed a vivid illustration of this year’s power shift and the potential political peril for Trump’s presidency.