Add Category
Updated
US President Donald Trump has used his State of the Union address to urge bitterly divided Republicans and Democrats to work toward compromises on immigration and infrastructure.
Key points:
- US President Donald Trump boasts about economic growth during State of the Union address
- Mr Trump calls for Republicans and Democrats to compromise on immigration and infrastructure
- The President supports terminally ill patients' 'right to try' experimental therapies
Mr Trump's address came after a bruising year of partisan battles that centred on his controversial leadership.
"Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve," Mr Trump said in the House of Representatives.
He used the speech to try to overcome doubts about his presidency at a time when he is battling a probe into his campaign's alleged ties with Russia and suffering low job approval ratings.
While Mr Trump called for bipartisanship, evidence of the deep divide between the parties was evident as he spoke.
Cheers on one side, silence and boos on the other
Republican politicians cheered wildly at the President's applause lines, while Democrats often sat in their seats silently.
Whether Mr Trump would follow through on his appeal for bipartisan harmony was far from clear.
Mr Trump's past attempts at a unifying message have been undermined by rancorous tweets and divisive statements that have angered Democrats and frequently annoyed members of his own Republican Party.
The unity plea's first test will be Mr Trump's drive for a compromise on protecting 1.8 million "Dreamers" — people brought illegally to the country as children — who face a March 5 deadline on whether they can begin to be deported.
Mr Trump said he was "extending an open hand" for an immigration deal and that he would provide Dreamers a pathway to citizenship over 10 to 12 years in exchange for funding for a border wall with Mexico and restrictions on legal immigration.
Mr Trump called his plan a "down-the-middle compromise", but some Democrats booed when he said he wanted to rein in "chain migration", the ability of legal immigrants to bring a wide-ranging number of family members into the country.
"Let's come together, set politics aside and finally get the job done," Mr Trump said.
Trump's infrastructure compromise
Mr Trump took credit for US economic gains, including a soaring stock market and falling unemployment figures.
He boasted about the economic growth he believes will result from tax cuts Republicans pushed through Congress late last year.
"This is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream," he said.
Mr Trump said he would like a compromise over a plan to rebuild aging roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
He said he wanted legislation to generate at least $US 1.5 trillion through a combination of federal, state and local spending as well as private-sector contributions.
"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.
While the rhetoric was often high-flying, Trump provided some reminders of partisan battles over the past year.
He singled out a speech guest, 12-year-old Preston Sharp, for leading an effort to put American flags on the graves of 40,000 veterans, saying the initiative was "why we proudly stand for the national anthem".
Trump supports the 'right to try'
Mr Trump also said that he wanted Congress to support the "right to try", allowing terminally ill patients to try experimental therapies not approved by federal authorities.
"It is time for the Congress to give these wonderful Americans the 'right to try'," Mr Trump said.
Legislation along these lines was approved by the Senate in August by a vote of 94-1.
It was designed to give terminally ill patients access to unapproved medications and to provide immunity for physicians willing to administer the treatments.
Mr Trump has expressed support for the measure before.
North Korea's leadership 'depraved'
During his address, Mr Trump described the leadership of North Korea as "depraved" and said Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear missiles could threaten America.
"North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland," Mr Trump said.
"We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening.
"We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and our allies."
Mr Trump's tough rhetoric highlighted persistent tensions despite the recent talks between North and South Korea that led to Pyongyang's agreement to participate in next month's Winter Olympic games hosted by Seoul.
Trump orders Guantanamo to stay open
Mr Trump used his address to announce he had signed an order to keep open the military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.
The move comes after his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, tried unsuccessfully to close the prison that has drawn international condemnation.
In his address, the President made clear he was fulfilling a campaign promise to keep operating the prison for foreign terrorism suspects at the US military base at Guantanamo, Cuba.
"I just signed, prior to walking in, an order directing [Defence] Secretary [Jim] Mattis … to re-examine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay," Mr Trump said.
The executive order authorised the US military to add detainees and suggested the possibility that captured Islamic State militants could be sent there for the first time.
Mr Obama signed an order on his first full day in office in 2009 ordering efforts to shutter Guantanamo within a year, but his plan was thwarted by mostly Republican opposition in Congress.
Instead, his administration reduced the inmate population from 242 to 41 during his eight years in office.
The prison, which was opened by President George W Bush to hold suspected militants captured overseas after the September 11 attacks, came to symbolise harsh detention practices that opened the US to accusations of torture.
Reuters
Topics: donald-trump, world-politics, united-states
First posted