This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/us/politics/trump-state-of-the-union.html
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Trump’s Address to Congress Unlikely to Bring Harmony | Trump’s Address to Congress Unlikely to Bring Harmony |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Trump delivered a message of bipartisan unity on Tuesday night in his first address to Congress in the new era of divided government, but any hope of enduring harmony was dispelled long before he arrived at the Capitol. | |
| Mr. Trump, who has warred with Democrats for weeks over his plan to build a wall along the nation’s southwestern border, hoped to use the nationally televised speech to present himself as a leader who can work across party lines even as he continued to press lawmakers to give him money for the barrier. | |
| “Together, we can break decades of political stalemate,” Mr. Trump told lawmakers from the rostrum of the House of Representatives. “We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future. The decision is ours to make.” | |
| Mr. Trump signaled that he will not back off his hard-line immigration policies that have polarized the country. “No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration,” he said. “Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards.” | |
| The speech came at a pivotal moment halfway through the president’s term as he seeks to regain momentum after the midterm election defeat that handed control of the House to Democrats and after his failed effort to use a partial government shutdown to extract money for the wall. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader who has blocked his efforts to build the border barrier, was sitting behind him for the first time on the House rostrum. | |
| The change in the Capitol was on display as Ms. Pelosi and scores of House Democratic women wore white, the color of the suffrage movement, reflecting the fact that 131 women were sworn into the new Congress, the most in American history. | |
| A newfound spirit of cooperation, however, seemed elusive as the president and Democrats spent the hours before the address exchanging political fire, making clear that ritualistic calls for across-the-aisle cooperation were unlikely to transform an environment that has turned increasingly toxic. | |
| Stung by his retreat on the government shutdown, Mr. Trump has hardly been in the mood for collaboration with the other party, anyway. As he and his team drafted his address in recent days, he has groused about the text, complaining that it was too gentle on Democrats, according to people briefed on the matter. | |
| The president sought to sharpen some of the lines in the speech, and while aides urged him to congratulate Ms. Pelosi on her ascension to the speakership, they were not entirely clear that he would. Ms. Pelosi has been his most frustrating antagonist since the start of the new year, at one point even disinviting him from delivering the State of the Union address unless he reopened the government, which he then did. | The president sought to sharpen some of the lines in the speech, and while aides urged him to congratulate Ms. Pelosi on her ascension to the speakership, they were not entirely clear that he would. Ms. Pelosi has been his most frustrating antagonist since the start of the new year, at one point even disinviting him from delivering the State of the Union address unless he reopened the government, which he then did. |
| During an off-the-record lunch for television anchors on Tuesday before the speech, Mr. Trump offered scathing assessments of a number of leading Democrats, including some lining up to run against him next year. | During an off-the-record lunch for television anchors on Tuesday before the speech, Mr. Trump offered scathing assessments of a number of leading Democrats, including some lining up to run against him next year. |
| He dismissed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as “dumb,” called Senator Chuck Schumer of New York a “nasty son of a bitch” and mocked Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia for “choking like a dog” at a news conference where he tried to explain a racist yearbook photo, according to multiple people in the room. | He dismissed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as “dumb,” called Senator Chuck Schumer of New York a “nasty son of a bitch” and mocked Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia for “choking like a dog” at a news conference where he tried to explain a racist yearbook photo, according to multiple people in the room. |
| Democrats did not wait for the address to challenge him. Mr. Schumer, the minority leader, took to the Senate floor to declare that Mr. Trump’s presidency was failing and troubled by chaos, and that any promises he would make were hardly credible. Anticipating calls for unity, Mr. Schumer mocked the idea that Mr. Trump was capable of bringing the country together. | Democrats did not wait for the address to challenge him. Mr. Schumer, the minority leader, took to the Senate floor to declare that Mr. Trump’s presidency was failing and troubled by chaos, and that any promises he would make were hardly credible. Anticipating calls for unity, Mr. Schumer mocked the idea that Mr. Trump was capable of bringing the country together. |
| “It seems every year the president wakes up and discovers the desire for unity on the morning of the State of the Union, then the president spends the other 364 days of the year dividing us, and sowing a state of disunion,” Mr. Schumer said. He added, “The blatant hypocrisy of this president calling for unity is that he is one of the chief reasons Americans feel so divided now.” | “It seems every year the president wakes up and discovers the desire for unity on the morning of the State of the Union, then the president spends the other 364 days of the year dividing us, and sowing a state of disunion,” Mr. Schumer said. He added, “The blatant hypocrisy of this president calling for unity is that he is one of the chief reasons Americans feel so divided now.” |
| Mr. Trump fired back at Mr. Schumer via Twitter. “I see Schumer is already criticizing my State of the Union speech, even though he hasn’t seen it yet,” the president wrote. “He’s just upset that he didn’t win the Senate, after spending a fortune, like he thought he would. Too bad we weren’t given more credit for the Senate win by the media!” | Mr. Trump fired back at Mr. Schumer via Twitter. “I see Schumer is already criticizing my State of the Union speech, even though he hasn’t seen it yet,” the president wrote. “He’s just upset that he didn’t win the Senate, after spending a fortune, like he thought he would. Too bad we weren’t given more credit for the Senate win by the media!” |
| Mr. Schumer responded with a tweet of his own: “Thanks for watching my speech but you must have missed this line: ‘Even more empty than his policy promises are President Trump’s calls each year for unity.’” | Mr. Schumer responded with a tweet of his own: “Thanks for watching my speech but you must have missed this line: ‘Even more empty than his policy promises are President Trump’s calls each year for unity.’” |
| Mr. Trump arrived at this point in his presidency with the approval of just 37 percent of the public, according to Gallup. In the past four decades, the only times a president headed into a State of the Union address with as little or less support were in 1983 when Ronald Reagan was struggling with a painful recession and in 2007 and 2008 when George W. Bush was trying to turn around the Iraq war. | Mr. Trump arrived at this point in his presidency with the approval of just 37 percent of the public, according to Gallup. In the past four decades, the only times a president headed into a State of the Union address with as little or less support were in 1983 when Ronald Reagan was struggling with a painful recession and in 2007 and 2008 when George W. Bush was trying to turn around the Iraq war. |
| Mr. Trump is the only president in the history of Gallup polling to have never drawn the support of a majority of the public at any point in his first two years in office. But while he is the fourth president in a row to lose at least one house of Congress during a midterm election, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both bounced back to win re-election, and Mr. Trump has privately expressed confidence that he will, too. | |
| After presidents suffer setbacks in midterm elections, they often reach out to the victorious opposition with words of conciliation, however artificial or short-lived they may be. In Mr. Trump’s case, he opened this period of partisan power sharing with a relentless confrontation over his proposed border wall, resulting in a record-breaking 35-day partial government shutdown. | After presidents suffer setbacks in midterm elections, they often reach out to the victorious opposition with words of conciliation, however artificial or short-lived they may be. In Mr. Trump’s case, he opened this period of partisan power sharing with a relentless confrontation over his proposed border wall, resulting in a record-breaking 35-day partial government shutdown. |
| That impasse nearly cost Mr. Trump his opportunity to deliver his State of the Union address, as Ms. Pelosi refused to let him come to the House chamber as long as federal agencies were closed and workers unpaid. Mr. Trump backed down and accepted a measure reopening the government for three weeks, but negotiations in the interim have made no more progress toward winning money for his wall — and the government could close again on Feb. 15. | That impasse nearly cost Mr. Trump his opportunity to deliver his State of the Union address, as Ms. Pelosi refused to let him come to the House chamber as long as federal agencies were closed and workers unpaid. Mr. Trump backed down and accepted a measure reopening the government for three weeks, but negotiations in the interim have made no more progress toward winning money for his wall — and the government could close again on Feb. 15. |
| Given that, Mr. Trump’s calls for unity were almost surely destined to fall on deaf ears. Even Republicans have publicly rebuked him lately for his plans to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and party leaders have pressed him not to declare a national emergency bypassing Congress to build the wall. | Given that, Mr. Trump’s calls for unity were almost surely destined to fall on deaf ears. Even Republicans have publicly rebuked him lately for his plans to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and party leaders have pressed him not to declare a national emergency bypassing Congress to build the wall. |
| Drafts of the speech included a portrait of menacing immigrants endangering Americans and a sharp challenge to Congress to build the wall. Among the guests invited to sit with the first lady, Melania Trump, during the speech were three family members of a couple killed last month in their home in Reno, Nev., allegedly by an illegal immigrant. | |
| The guest list, as under previous presidents, was intended to make various political points. Also included on it were a drug offender released under a criminal justice overhaul Mr. Trump signed into law; the manager of a lumber plant that has reopened; a member of the Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 members were killed by a gunman last fall; and a police officer who was shot while responding to the synagogue shooting. | The guest list, as under previous presidents, was intended to make various political points. Also included on it were a drug offender released under a criminal justice overhaul Mr. Trump signed into law; the manager of a lumber plant that has reopened; a member of the Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 members were killed by a gunman last fall; and a police officer who was shot while responding to the synagogue shooting. |
| Also invited was Joshua Trump, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Del., who “has been bullied in school due to his last name,” according to the White House. | Also invited was Joshua Trump, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Del., who “has been bullied in school due to his last name,” according to the White House. |
| Democrats were making points with their guests, as well. Among those they invited were air traffic controllers who went unpaid during the government shutdown, illegal immigrants who worked at Mr. Trump’s properties and transgender soldiers who will be banned under the president’s new policy. | Democrats were making points with their guests, as well. Among those they invited were air traffic controllers who went unpaid during the government shutdown, illegal immigrants who worked at Mr. Trump’s properties and transgender soldiers who will be banned under the president’s new policy. |
| The Democrats tapped Stacey Abrams, who lost a close race for governor of Georgia in November, to deliver the official response, but others sought to get in on the action, as well. Senator Kamala Harris of California, who is running for president, delivered hers shortly before the speech, while Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who may also run, planned to deliver his afterward. | The Democrats tapped Stacey Abrams, who lost a close race for governor of Georgia in November, to deliver the official response, but others sought to get in on the action, as well. Senator Kamala Harris of California, who is running for president, delivered hers shortly before the speech, while Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who may also run, planned to deliver his afterward. |
| In his address, Mr. Trump planned to assail Democrats like Mr. Northam for comments in support of easing restrictions on late-term abortions, a nod to Mr. Trump’s conservative base. The speech drafts did not include any mention of the racist medical school yearbook picture that has threatened Mr. Northam’s political career, and aides have cautioned the president about raising that issue. | In his address, Mr. Trump planned to assail Democrats like Mr. Northam for comments in support of easing restrictions on late-term abortions, a nod to Mr. Trump’s conservative base. The speech drafts did not include any mention of the racist medical school yearbook picture that has threatened Mr. Northam’s political career, and aides have cautioned the president about raising that issue. |
| During a break in practicing the speech on Monday, Mr. Trump popped into a White House briefing that some of his aides were holding with allies expected to carry his message, and grew animated talking about Mr. Northam’s comments about abortion, according to one person in attendance. Mr. Trump called it a form of “late, late” term abortion that amounted to infanticide. He then mimicked Mr. Northam, the attendee said, running through what he had said about dealing with unwanted pregnancies after a baby is born. | During a break in practicing the speech on Monday, Mr. Trump popped into a White House briefing that some of his aides were holding with allies expected to carry his message, and grew animated talking about Mr. Northam’s comments about abortion, according to one person in attendance. Mr. Trump called it a form of “late, late” term abortion that amounted to infanticide. He then mimicked Mr. Northam, the attendee said, running through what he had said about dealing with unwanted pregnancies after a baby is born. |
| The president planned to use the address to highlight what he sees as the accomplishments of his first two years in office, including a growing economy with just 4 percent unemployment, “the envy of the world,” as he put in in the excerpts. He was expected to press Congress to approve his new trade pact with Canada and Mexico updating the North American Free Trade Agreement. | |
| Mr. Trump was not expected to outline the traditional laundry list of new initiatives, the way other presidents have, but he did plan to make a national commitment to end transmission of the virus that causes AIDS, with a goal of stopping its spread in the United States by 2030. He also again called for bipartisan measures to rebuild “America’s crumbling infrastructure” and to curb the cost of prescription drugs. | |
| The president also planned to talk about his goal of bringing an end to the “endless wars” in places like Syria and Afghanistan, the threat he sees from Iran, his efforts to negotiate with North Korea and his bid to force President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela to step down, according to aides. | The president also planned to talk about his goal of bringing an end to the “endless wars” in places like Syria and Afghanistan, the threat he sees from Iran, his efforts to negotiate with North Korea and his bid to force President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela to step down, according to aides. |
| While the president’s speech was drafted with a message of unity, that did not mean florid language about a lasting political peace, so much as pointing to areas of common cause that the White House can forge with Democrats, according to one official familiar with the discussions. | While the president’s speech was drafted with a message of unity, that did not mean florid language about a lasting political peace, so much as pointing to areas of common cause that the White House can forge with Democrats, according to one official familiar with the discussions. |
| “Over the last two years,” he said, “my administration has moved with urgency and historic speed to confront problems neglected by leaders of both parties over many decades.” | |