By Camille Lalancette 2/1/2018
President Donald Trump recalled his accomplishments and outlined his legislative agenda in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Early in his speech, President Trump called for bipartisan unity, asking Democrats and Republicans “to set aside our differences” and “make America Great Again for all Americans”. The demand was well-received by Republicans. Democrats, on the other hand, offered a lukewarm response to Mr. Trump’s message.
The President looked back on his achievement putting America First. He pointed out the major tax cuts in his first year in office, as wells as dynamic economic and regulatory reforms. Mr. Trump also promised to fix bad trade deals and secure American Intellectual property. Then came the issue of Immigration.
President Trump’s plan to take down DACA and build a wall led to a government shutdown early this year. Following the shutdown, both parties began talks to find some agreement. Nonetheless, booing from Democratic representatives was heard as the President announced the four pillars to his immigration reform package. He underlined the nonpartisan nature of the reform, “a fair compromise” reached by both parties.
The Immigration reform package guaranteed “a path to citizenship for 1.8 million immigrants” as well as the construction of a wall to ensure a “fully secure border”. The President also evoked reforms to end the visa lottery and chain immigration.
Above all, the address echoed Trump’s success in taking down Obama’s late reforms during his first year in office. Starting with his repeal of the Affordable Care Act to eliminating regulations and the rejection of DACA, Mr. Trump revealed his plan to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison open. A promise to prevent the looming threat of terrorism and a final step to stripping the White House of any reminders of the Obama presidency.