EDITORIAL: Trump’s State of the Union speech probably ranks among history’s best
Regardless of what pundits will say in coming days in the spin zones of partisan cable talk TV, Americans who watched the State of the Union probably slept better than they had in years. They likely found themselves questioning whether a man so often characterized as a divisive, xenophobic, racist, anti-LGBT bigot could possibly have given that speech.
Leading up to Tuesday night, we heard about the president's intention to unify a country seldom so divided. So we expected a lot of easy talk about holding hands and trying to get along. This was more than words, at some points becoming an event that included women in House Speaker
"No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year," Trump said. "All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before -- and exactly one century after
The speech became even more of a memorable event when the audience spontaneously sang "Happy Birthday" to an 81-year-old survivor of the Holocaust and the Tree of Life synagogue massacre.
If that weren't enough, Trump used the speech to unite
At least for one night, Trump exemplified how
"No force in history has done more to advance the human condition than American freedom," Trump said, asking for Americans to leverage that tradition.
"The decision is ours to make. We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction. Tonight, I ask you to choose greatness."
Trump talked about immigration in the least hawkish manner we have heard while standing firm on the need for a "smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier" instead of the "simple concrete wall" he spoke of in the past.
"Legal immigrants enrich our nation and strengthen our society in countless ways," Trump said. "I want people to come into our country in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally."
Though short on specific legislative proposals, Trump announced a budgetary goal to eliminate the HIV epidemic within 10 years.
The president highlighted economic indicators that are improving Americans' lives: 5.3 million new jobs, 600,000 in manufacturing, in the past three years; rising wages; unemployment at the lowest rate in half a century; the lowest levels of unemployment in history for African-Americans, Hispanic- Americans, Asian-American and disabled Americans.
The speech showed squeamish
The speech followed a particularly bad week for the Democratic Party. Embattled by racism and rape allegations in
"I am asking
Trump closed the speech with near certain odds of a positive bounce in his approval rating.
Before
Americans saw a presidential Trump on Tuesday, delivering a State of the Union address that probably ranks high among history's best.
The Gazette editorial board
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