5 Takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union speech
Five key takeaways from his remarks:
HE'S NOT BUDGING ON THE WALL
"I will get it built," he declared in his Tuesday evening speech.
Addressing a joint session of lawmakers, Trump yet again hammered his now-familiar case for building a wall along the
Trump notably made no reference to his continued to threat to circumvent
The White Housed decided the speech was an inappropriate venue for such an announcement, especially after Trump said he'd allow congressional negotiators to run out a three-week clock that expires on
THE HOUSE WAS IN ORDER
Would they boo? Hiss? Jeer?
With
Instead, the 82-minute speech was punctuated by lighthearted moments, including when lawmakers from both parties sang a spontaneous rendition of "Happy Birthday" to
The president also prompted cheers from the freshmen female
The women — dressed in white in honor of early 20th-century suffragettes — stood on their feet, with one raising her hands in the air in a "raise the roof" motion.
Trump seemed taken back by the outbursts. "You weren't supposed to do that," he said before congratulating all the women who hold seats in
SHUTDOWN? WHAT SHUTDOWN?
Trump made no reference to the 35-day government shutdown that rocked the nation's capital, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers without pay and freezing many government services the first month of the year.
It was a notable omission from a president who had once said that he would be proud to own the shutdown — and came just 10 days before the government is set to run out of money again.
Trump did note that
It was a different story for
"Making their livelihoods a pawn for political games," she said, "is a disgrace."
AN APPEAL TO THE BASE
As he does often in his toughest political moments, Trump tried to rally the Christian conservative voters who have proven to be some of his most loyal backers. He seized upon recent controversies surrounding "late-term abortions" and warned against legislation that he claimed "would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother's womb moments before birth."
"These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world," he said, calling on
Trump also singled out embattled Democratic
A FEW SWIPES AT
Even as he called for a new age of bipartisanship and urged lawmakers to "govern not as two parties, but as one nation," Trump couldn't help but take few digs at
"We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution — and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good," Trump said at one point.
Later he touted an "economic miracle" taking place across the country that he said could only be stopped by "foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations."
As for the new wave of socialist fervor in the Democratic Party, Trump declared, "Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country."
Follow Colvin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj
Democrats charge ahead with investigations unbowed by Trump
Explosive Growth on Fire Insurance Market Growing CAGR by 2025: Challenges, Standardization, Competitive Market Share, Operator Case Studies
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News