EDITORIAL: State of the Union showcases Trump’s achievements, goals

Daily Press (Victorville, CA)

Feb. 07--President Donald Trump's list of achievements during his first two years in office is impressive indeed, as he delineated during Tuesday night's inspiring State of the Union address. Trump's economic accomplishments alone normally would be enough to ensure a second term for any president, but these are not ordinary times.

The Democrats' continued inability to cope with Trump's stunning, upset victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 has blinded most of them to just how great this president has truly been and how much better things are for virtually all Americans.

--Since he was elected, Trump's policies have helped to create about 5 million new jobs, nearly 10 percent of those in manufacturing;

--Unemployment has reached its lowest levels in 50 years and the jobless rates for blacks, Hispanics, Asians and those with disabilities are their lowest ever;

--More Americans, 157 million, are working now than ever before;

--Wages are rising at the fastest pace in a decade;

--The United States has become the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas in the world;

--ISIS has been routed in the Middle East;

--Trump has held face-to-face talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un once already, and will meet with him again later this month;

--America's military has been strengthened even as Trump has pulled out of a bad nuclear deal with Iran and a nuclear treaty Russia wasn't upholding;

--He has committed to pulling American troops out of Afghanistan and Syria;

--Trump has renegotiated NAFTA and is committed to improving a trade deal with China.

Despite this impressive list, Trump isn't done. He still wants to tackle the country's crumbling infrastructure, lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs for all Americans, make school choice a reality for all children, prohibit late-term abortions, defeat AIDS and childhood cancer, and build a wall or series of barriers on our southern border to effectively end illegal immigration and protect Americans physically and fiscally from illegal immigration's enormous costs in terms of lives and money.

Trump reached out to Democrats on Tuesday night, making it clear that his agenda was America's agenda, that his goals would only improve the lives of all Americans, whatever their color or political persuasion. It's time for Nancy Pelosi and the rest of her party to sit down and focus on the people's business and needs, just like President Trump is doing.

The Congressional Democrats' choice is simple. Will they work with Trump and for us or will they concentrate on tearing down him, along with America?

"I ask the men and women of this Congress, look at the opportunities before us. Our most thrilling achievements are still ahead," Trump said. "Our biggest victories are still to come. ... We must choose whether we are defined by our differences or wheather we dare to transcend them. ...This is the time to reignite the American imagination. This is the time to search for the tallest summit, and set our sights on the brightest star.

"This is our future -- our fate -- and our choice to make. I am asking you to choose greatness. No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together. We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America's destiny -- that one nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world!"

Amen, President Trump. Amen.

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