During his first state of the union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump repeatedly called for bipartisanship, painted hopeful images, and told inspiring stories about guests in the crowd. But a year’s worth of partisan battles cut through the president’s optimistic rhetoric.
Mixed in with a list of the year’s successes, legislative goals, and exhortations for unity (Trump used the word “together” at least 10 times), the president appeared to inflame Democrats with his remarks on immigration, African-American unemployment, and a subtle reference to the NFL protests, among other subjects.
Trump introduced 12-year-old Preston Sharp, a guest of the first lady and a “young patriot” who launched a movement to place American flags at veterans’ graves on Veterans Day. “Preston’s reverence for those who have served our Nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance,” he said, before adding what appeared to be a subtle dig at this year’s NFL protests, “and why we proudly stand for the national anthem.”
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who wore African kente cloth in protest of the president’s comments about “shithole” countries, did not stand or clap in response, nor did they acknowledge Trump’s remark that African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded.
The president’s comments on immigration drew boos and head shaking from Democrats.
“For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities,” he said. “They have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives.”
As he did frequently throughout the night, Trump turned to guests, this time two couples whose daughters “were brutally murdered while walking together in their hometown. “Six members of the savage gang MS-13 have been charged with Kayla and Nisa’s murders,” Trump said. “Many of these gang members took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors.”
California senator Kamala Harris said in a television interview after the address that the president, with his reference to MS-13, Trump was “scapegoating” and “fear-mongering.” A few rows behind Harris sat Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, scribbling notes ahead of his SOTU response.
“My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans—to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream,” the president told lawmakers. “Because Americans are dreamers too.”
Trump laid out the pillars of a “down-the-middle compromise” plan for immigration reform, the fourth of which, he said, would protect “the nuclear family by ending chain migration.” Booing ensued.
The president also called on lawmakers to agree on legislation that generates funding for an infrastructure revamp. “I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve,” he said.
Lawmakers appeared sharply divided from the beginning of the address, though not always along partisan lines.
Those Senate Democrats who are vulnerable in upcoming elections were not shy about standing and applauding the president’s remarks. West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, who sat at the end of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s row, stood and clapped at nearly every applause break.
Their silent exchange almost became a routine at one point: Trump would come close to a pause, Schumer would peer down the row with a half-smile, Manchin would look back at Schumer. Trump would pause. Manchin would stand and clap. Schumer would shake his head, bemused.
“We have ended the war on American Energy—and we have ended the war on clean coal,” Trump said. Manchin stood and hollered, amid laughing from Schumer.
The president’s Republican critics, meanwhile, at times sided with Democrats. Arizona senator Jeff Flake appeared nauseous when Trump touted his administration’s “historic actions to protect religious liberty.”
Only some of the president’s repeated calls to set aside differences earned unanimous applause. His stated desire to reduce the price of prescription drugs, his support for vocational schools and paid family leave, and his calls to celebrate America’s police, military, and veterans all earned strong applause from both sides. As did his remarks about guests in the audience. That includes the family of Otto Warmbier, whose young son was imprisoned in North Korea and died shortly after returning to America.
“You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires us all,” Trump said. “Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto’s memory with American resolve.”
In the final leg of his 80-minute-long address, Trump touched on what he characterized as a range of foreign policy wins: asking Congress to fix the flaws in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the liberation of territory in Iraq and Syria once held by ISIS, and his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He announced to members that he had just signed an executive order to keep Guantanamo Bay open. And he called on Congress “to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military.”
On North Korea, he promised, “I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.” Trump’s final story was about the trying life of North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho, also an audience member.
Seong-ho’s enduring journey, the president said, “is a testament to the yearning of every human soul to live in freedom.”
“It was that same yearning for freedom that nearly 250 years ago gave birth to a special place called America,” he continued. “It was a small cluster of colonies caught between a great ocean and a vast wilderness.”
Striking a final, unifying note of optimism, the president, after a highly polarizing first year in office, told members of Congress: “As long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens, and trust in our God, we will not fail.”
