Trump Addresses the Nation in First State of the Union

by Ryan McCoy

If you are one of the millions of Americans that didn’t watch the State of the Union, here is what you missed.

The State of the Union is the yearly speech given by the President about where the nation stands, and where it’s going. On Tuesday, Jan. 30, President Donald Trump addressed the nation in his first State of the Union. He talked about what was accomplished in the last year, and he honored several heroes throughout the speech. Trump also made several calls to action and introduced a vision for the new year.  

A major theme in the speech was unity, and this theme started from the beginning.  

Trump made statements such as, “We saw the volunteers of the Cajun Navy racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. We saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the Las Vegas strip.”  

Trump made a lot of “we” statements, indicating that everyone deserves credit for the State of the Union.

Trump continued by stating, “The state of our union is strong, because our people are strong.”   

Trump also turned to the economy, one of his major campaign points. He mentioned the 2.4 million jobs created and highlighted that 200,000 of those are the manufacturing jobs that he promised to bring back. And, the massive growth of the stock market, which gained $8 trillion in value.

Trump continued to reinforce the strong and growing economy adding, “Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.”   

Next, Trump praised his tax plan stating, “Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses.” Trump highlighted the effects of the cuts for middle class families. Following the effects with, “This April will be the last time you ever file under the old broken system — and millions of Americans will have more take-home pay starting next month.” An accomplishment that the president is very proud of, as well as the elimination of the individual healthcare mandate which he called “an especially cruel tax.”

The president praised the tax plans relief for small businesses and had guests to support his claims.

Trump then honored heroes in the military and police and began talking about government accountability, and his work to roll back regulations, directly mentioning the coal industry.  

The president also discussed trade stating, “From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal.”

The President then moved to what seems like his biggest goal for the year. “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. Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need.” Trump said.

Trump also continued his support for vocational education and prison reform.  

Tied for possibly the most ambitious goal for the year, Trump also extended his immigration compromise, laying out the four pillars of his plan. The president hopes that Congress will come together and accept the compromise, which as he put it, presents a plan “where nobody gets everything they want, but where our country gets the critical reforms it needs.”

Trump moved on to the opioid crisis stating, “We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge. My administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need. The struggle will be long and difficult — but, as Americans always do, we will prevail.”

Trump proceeded to another major point of his campaign, the military. He restated his intention to modernize our nuclear program, following this with, “Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet.”

The President then gave an update on ISIS, proudly stating the success of the coalition in fighting the terrorist organization, but adding, “…there is much more work to be done. We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated.”

Trump also called on Congress to only provide foreign aid to allies and those in support of American interest, and to reexamine the Iran nuclear deal.  He also focused on the sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, as well as the threat of North Korea.  

The President then concluded his speech with more of the American exceptionalism that won him the office.  Trump ended it with, “As long as we are proud of who we are, and what we are fighting for, there is nothing we cannot achieve. As long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens and trust in our God, we will not fail. Our families will thrive. Our people will prosper. And, our nation will forever be safe and strong and proud and mighty and free.”